Many people don’t have an estate plan. In some cases, this is because they’ve been told certain myths about estate planning that they have believed. They may be making a critical mistake without even realizing it.
As such, it’s very important to identify what these myths are and why they are not true. This can help to ensure that you take appropriate action when it’s time to make your estate plan.
You don’t have enough money
One of the biggest things that people say is simply that estate planning is for rich individuals and they don’t have enough money for it to matter. But this is simply not the case. For one thing, even families without many financial assets still have heirlooms to pass on. For another, estate planning can also help with advanced medical care planning and many other things, not just transferring financial assets.
You are too young
Another big misconception is that people are simply too young to have an estate plan. Granted, you can’t legally make a plan until you turn eighteen, but you can do it any time after that. It’s quite a risk to put it off until you’re at retirement age, and it’s important to point out that you could make your plan as early as you want and simply update it at any time in the future.
You can just tell people what you want
You can give your heirs verbal instructions, but they’re not legally obligated to follow them unless they are included in an official estate plan. For instance, you can tell your oldest child that you’d like to have them split your assets with their siblings. And they may do so, but it can be a confusing process and it often leads to disputes. It’s much better to give your heirs a written guideline that they are obligated to follow. This also ensures that your heirs all know for certain which assets you wanted to leave to specific people.
These are just three myths about estate planning, but they help to show you why it’s so important to know about all of the legal steps you can take to create the right plan for your family.