Recent surveys have indicated that the percentage of individuals in the United States who have children who do in fact have an estate plan in place is right around 50%. This leaves half of the parents in the country without having made any provisions for the well-being of their children, and this is truly a sad state of affairs.
While it is understandable that freewheeling single people may not prioritize intelligent advance planning, you really should have an estate plan in place as soon as you become a responsible self-supporting adult.
Not only do you want to direct the transfer of whatever assets you may have, you should also execute a living will stating how you feel about the use of certain medical procedures should you become incapacitated.
However, if you have dependent children in the home estate planning is an absolute must. Making sure that there is a suitable income replacement vehicle in place such as life insurance is part of the equation. Asserting your choice of guardian should both parents of the child or children become incapacitated or pass away is another necessity.
And, even if you are older making provisions for your adult children is probably something that you want to do as well rather than letting everything fall into the hands of the probate court.
Procrastination is really not acceptable. If you are currently going through life without an estate plan, take action right now to sit down and discuss your unique situation with a licensed and experienced Indianapolis estate planning lawyer.
Paul A. Kraft, Estate Planning Attorney
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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