Many experts recommend starting your estate plan early in life, typically around the time you start thinking about marriage or children. This makes it easy to update your estate documents over the years as your asset profile changes and develops.
You might therefore believe that starting an estate plan later in life is too big a job to handle. It is actually never too late to start an estate plan, and it is likely much easier than you think.
Why you need an estate plan
An estate plan ultimately serves to grant peace of mind to both yourself and your family. Putting your wishes into legally-binding writing ensures that your assets will go exactly where you want. Having a will or trust to follow will make things easier on your family during the probate process, or perhaps allow the avoidance of probate altogether.
How older adults can start estate planning
Even if estate planning seems inaccessible at your age, you can accomplish much by writing a basic will. Preparing a simple will is easy, and it allows you to state who will inherit your assets after your passing. You can then follow up by preparing a trust when time and circumstances allow, which will empower you to conduct more specific estate planning tasks with greater control.
Organizing the distribution of your estate can be difficult to do alone, especially if you have a complex asset situation. You can get the help you need by finding an estate planning service that understands how to get the results you seek.
