It is really surprising when you see the statistics regarding how prepared people are for the future. There was a Harris interactive survey conducted back in 2009 that shed some light on the subject. Only 35% of the people that they communicated with had executed a last will, and a paltry 29% had signed a living will. This is really unacceptable because you are putting your family at risk when you go through life without an estate plan.
The survey indicated that people are often deterred from engaging in estate planning because they are under the impression that it is only important for people with extraordinary wealth. Many of the respondents also mentioned the fact that they were reluctant to incur legal expenses and this was one of the reasons why they had failed to executed any estate planning documents.
In reality, estate planning is important for people of all income brackets. You could say that it is even more important for people who don’t have extraordinary means to make sure that their loved ones will have some resources to draw from should the unthinkable take place. One of the aspects of estate planning that would be relevant in this regard is income replacement. Having an income replacement vehicle in place such as adequate life insurance coverage is key when you have people depending on your income.
As for legal expenses, the relatively modest cost of representation is going to far outweigh the costs of a lack of preparation. There are sources of asset erosion out there and your estate planning attorney will evaluate your assets and do what is necessary to keep them intact as you are passing them on to your loved ones.
Everyone should have at least a basic estate plan in place. If you are currently unprepared, take action for the benefit of those that you love and arrange for a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney.
Mr. Nirenstein is licensed to practice before the courts of the State of Connecticut and the United States District Court. He is a member of the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations, and the Estate and Probate, Elder Law, Business Law and Real Estate Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.
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