Surveys show that most adults in the U.S. have not done any estate planning. People who have not gotten around to creating a will, trust, advance directive or other estate planning documents usually have various excuses. However, most of those reasons are far less important than making sure that your family will be cared for financially if you pass away. Without a valid estate plan, Illinois’ intestacy laws determine what happens to your assets, which may result in a distribution very different than what you would have wanted.
Here are three common excuses people in and around Mokena give for not doing estate planning, along with our responses.
I’m too busy
It’s true that people with kids and jobs tend not to have much free time. But basic estate planning does not have to take hundreds of hours to complete. Depending on how intricate you want your plan to be, you and your estate planning attorney may complete your will and advance directive within just a few hours.
It’s too confusing
Most people’s eyes glaze over when confronted with a block of legal text. The language is frequently boring and confusing. But a good estate planning lawyer will listen to you describe what you want out of your plan and explain what they can do to make that happen for you. They will ensure that your documents have the correct legal language to make them enforceable.
Thinking about death is bad luck
Nobody likes to plan for their eventual demise. But while you cannot control the inevitable, you can control what will happen to the wealth you have earned during your life. You can have your assets distributed to any heirs in almost any way you see fit. And going through estate planning will not put a curse on you that leads to your death.
If you are now ready to get started, consult a local estate planning attorney.