One reason that people put off estate planning is that they think it’s too early to do it. Maybe you’re in your 40s, and you feel like you’ve only lived half of your life. There’s no reason to do your estate planning yet. Why not wait until you’re in your 60s or 70s? After all, life expectancy in the United States is nearly 80.
This reasoning feels like it makes sense, but it ignores a few key points.
You can’t predict the future
First of all, you can’t predict what will happen. Life expectancy may have increased significantly since the 19th century, when it was just around 40 years old, but you never know what this means for you personally. If the unexpected happens, is your family going to be ready? It makes sense to plan in advance, even if it turns out that the planning wasn’t needed until you reach 79 — the current life expectancy in the U.S.
Making a plan early never hurts
The next thing to consider is that it doesn’t hurt to make a plan early. There is no downside. Sure, you could draft your plan at 40 and then live for 40 more years. All this means is that you have to periodically update and adjust the plan. That’s easy to do, and it’s far better to have a plan you do not need than to keep moving forward without one.
Getting started
There’s no drawback to making your estate plan today. Read more about our firm and about estate planning in Illinois here on our site.