Why You Don't Have an Estate Plan
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You know this is important. You know you need to make a plan for who is going to take care of your minor children. You understand that your family members might have to pay to go through the probate process if you don't leave them a road map. You know that your family may end up paying estate or inheritance taxes if you do nothing.
If you don't have a plan in place, you are not alone. More than half of American adults do not have a will, let alone a comprehensive plan. Even celebrities like Aretha Franklin and Prince, who were surrounded by professional advisors and could easily afford an estate planner, died without a will. More than half of adult Americans do not have a will. Even among those who do, their will may not do what they think it will. |
Need Help With Your Estate Plan?OR
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What's Stopping You?
Every situation is different, but there are some common reasons we hear that people put off their estate planning.
It Does Not Seem Important Right Now: Maybe you are young and healthy and it does not seem urgent. We get that, but remember that this is a great time to get this taken care of, while you are not facing a crisis. When you think about this question, make sure you understand what it would look like it you or your spouse were to pass without a will. For blended families, you should know that the law is not set up well to distribute your assets the way you would want if you do not have a will.
You're Not Rich: Maybe you feel like this is something only rich people need to worry about, and you are not rich. But you still have things, and a family, and ideas about how you would like things to be distributed. And if you have minor children, no matter how much money you have or don't have, you need a plan for them. Finally, the Massachusetts estate tax very much impacts middle class families, and you may well be richer than you think, because the law counts everything, including life insurance proceeds, retirement accounts, and the value of jointly owned real estate.
Cost: There are so many more immediate things to do with your money than plan for the future. But if going through probate if you die without a will can cost from 3% to 8% of the value of your assets, and the estate tax liability on an estate worth just over $1 million is $36,000, you can quickly begin to see that the investment in getting a plan in place is well worth it.
You're Too Busy: This is also common, and totally understandable. The good news is once you take the first step to hire a lawyer to make your plan, most of the work is out of your hands. Learn how it works- it may be simpler than you think.
You Don't Know Who to Trust: Hiring an estate planning lawyer is, quite literally, inviting someone into your family, if only for a short while. It is not surprising that it may feel overwhelming to find someone to help you with this very personal matter. But if you trust us only on one thing, trust us on this: you need to find someone and get started.
There are ways to can vet your choice of a lawyer. For example, Avvo.com has a rating system that is based on objective criteria, and also hosts client reviews. Sites like Avvo and Google reviews do not allow attorneys to filter the reviews that are posted, so if you find enough reviews you can get a pretty good idea about the kind of experiences others have had with the lawyer.
But you need to find someone, make a decision, and get started so that you can put this behind you knowing that you and your family are protected.
It Does Not Seem Important Right Now: Maybe you are young and healthy and it does not seem urgent. We get that, but remember that this is a great time to get this taken care of, while you are not facing a crisis. When you think about this question, make sure you understand what it would look like it you or your spouse were to pass without a will. For blended families, you should know that the law is not set up well to distribute your assets the way you would want if you do not have a will.
You're Not Rich: Maybe you feel like this is something only rich people need to worry about, and you are not rich. But you still have things, and a family, and ideas about how you would like things to be distributed. And if you have minor children, no matter how much money you have or don't have, you need a plan for them. Finally, the Massachusetts estate tax very much impacts middle class families, and you may well be richer than you think, because the law counts everything, including life insurance proceeds, retirement accounts, and the value of jointly owned real estate.
Cost: There are so many more immediate things to do with your money than plan for the future. But if going through probate if you die without a will can cost from 3% to 8% of the value of your assets, and the estate tax liability on an estate worth just over $1 million is $36,000, you can quickly begin to see that the investment in getting a plan in place is well worth it.
You're Too Busy: This is also common, and totally understandable. The good news is once you take the first step to hire a lawyer to make your plan, most of the work is out of your hands. Learn how it works- it may be simpler than you think.
You Don't Know Who to Trust: Hiring an estate planning lawyer is, quite literally, inviting someone into your family, if only for a short while. It is not surprising that it may feel overwhelming to find someone to help you with this very personal matter. But if you trust us only on one thing, trust us on this: you need to find someone and get started.
There are ways to can vet your choice of a lawyer. For example, Avvo.com has a rating system that is based on objective criteria, and also hosts client reviews. Sites like Avvo and Google reviews do not allow attorneys to filter the reviews that are posted, so if you find enough reviews you can get a pretty good idea about the kind of experiences others have had with the lawyer.
But you need to find someone, make a decision, and get started so that you can put this behind you knowing that you and your family are protected.
How Our Estate Planning Lawyers Can Help
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We are ready to help. We understand this can be a difficult issue to tackle, so we have designed our process to make it as easy as possible for you to get the plan in place that protects you and your family and accomplishes your goals. You can use the button below to schedule a free information call, or simply give us a call at 781-784-2322.
