Procrastination in estate planning
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions for 2018? Maybe you planned to eat healthier, spend more time with family, or learn a new skill. Now that half the year has passed, it is a good time to evaluate where you stand with those resolutions and maybe resolve to follow through with them. Eighty percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by February!
In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, I get an influx of new clients each January, who want to learn more about estate planning and what options make the most sense for their families. However, some of these individuals end up waiting to make a plan, possibly because of indecisiveness or due to other factors.
Procrastination is often listed as the number one estate planning mistake that most Americans make.
It is human nature for us to not want to think about death or disability. However, there can be some major risks or unintended consequences when you procrastinate.
First, what if you die unexpectedly? In the event you die without an estate plan, your family will be put in the difficult position of trying to dispose of your assets without any specific guidelines from you. They might have to go through the probate process, which can be costly and time-consuming. It could also mean unintended inheritance rights or increased estate taxes. If you do not have an estate plan and die intestate, the state of Arkansas has intestate succession laws that govern who will receive your estate upon your death.
A second risk of procrastination is that of disability. If you become disabled and do not have at the least, a durable power of attorney, your family may be faced with the need to establish a court-supervised guardian. A durable power of attorney will permit your spouse, or your children, to have the authority to act on your behalf in the event of your disability.
A third risk of delay is that of the possibility that a terminally ill person will be faced with the difficult task of implementing an estate plan in the last weeks of their life. When estate planning is postponed until a person is terminally ill, several major problems can arise. First, there is the basic problem of a terminally ill person having to deal with the paperwork. Secondly, an estate plan prepared when a person is near death is subject to attack by reason of questions of possible incapacity (either from illness or medication). Finally, many terminally ill persons simply do not have the stamina to go through the decision-making process that is involved in estate planning.
A final consideration in a comprehensive estate plan is preplanning one’s funeral so as to avoid the difficulty of your family being required to make funeral decisions within hours of your death. Many people go into detail about the type of funeral services they wish to have, the pallbearers, the cost, etc. You are encouraged to contact your funeral director to preplan your funeral.
In summary, for the benefit of both your own peace of mind and that of your loved ones, you should not postpone the preparation of your estate plan. Otherwise, you run the risk of creating additional stress and expense for your family, and possibly even yourself. Do not make the number one estate planning mistake in 2018!
Tiffany is an associate attorney at Farrar & Williams, PLLC, a law firm limiting its practice to trusts, estate planning, and elder law, and can be contacted at 501-525-4401 or by email at tiffany@farrarwilliams.com. She can answer any questions you have about this subject.