Many people in California know they should prepare an estate plan, but they put it off. There are a lot of reasons people postpone estate planning. Some think it will be a lot of work, some believe they are too busy and some avoid it because they don’t like to think about the fact that someday they will not be around anymore.
All of these reasons are very human and very understandable. But, estate planning is too important to put off indefinitely. If you want to be the one who decides how your assets are distributed after you’re gone, if you want to make sure your family is provided for, if you want to leave a legacy to a charity or cause that is important to you — you need to prepare an estate plan. If you want to have some say in what medical treatments you will receive at the end of your life, if you want your family to avoid probate and unnecessary taxation — you need to do some estate planning.
Estate planning is not something you should do on your deathbed. The time to do estate planning is when you are still healthy enough to make important decisions about your property and your family. Those who put off estate planning year after year run the risk that they will become physically or mentally incapacitated before they can prepare their estate plan. And while we don’t like to think about it, the reality is that for many people death comes unexpectedly.
Few people think of estate planning as a fun way to spend time on a weekend. But with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney, it can be relatively easy and uncomplicated. And when it’s done, people can have the satisfaction of knowing that their loved ones will be taken care of when they are gone.