Are Your Prepared?

When you’re in your 20’s and 30’s and in good health, it’s easy to feel invincible and believes that nothing will ever happen to you.  So it’s easy to justify deferring estate planning.

Why worry about a long-term financial strategy and “legacy” if you’re just getting started in your career.  Estate planning can wait until later.

Unfortunately, everyone is vulnerable to events outside of their control.  It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old.

It is always a good idea to establish even a simple plan as opposed to having nothing at all.

This is true for small business owners and especially true for small business owners who experience dramatic surges in income.  Business owners should reevaluate their plans frequently, especially during and after periods of major growth and contraction.

Depending on the nature of your income surge, you might need focused, specialized planning to minimize tax consequences. Likewise, when your life or business goes through big inflection points, it can help to rethink your long term financial strategy just as a way to clean up the “open loops” in your life – to eliminate background distraction, so you can concentrate more on what’s important and what you love to do.

Failing to establish, amend, or revise a trust or will as your life changes can create needless risks.

A properly drafted, up-to-date estate plan can help keep family members concentrated on meaningful and important work, such as consoling children left behind and supporting one another emotionally, rather than potentially distracting legal issues.

While drafting a trust or a will does require skill and thoughtfulness, an experienced estate planning lawyer can take the emotional charge out of this process, simplify it greatly for you, and ensure an enduring legacy for the next generation.