The pandemic has changed our behavior in many ways, and one of the most positive shifts is in estate planning. For the first time, young adults are more likely to have an estate plan than middle-aged adults.
A 2021 study from Caring.com found that the number of Americans aged 18 to 34 with a will or other planning document skyrocketed by 63% in just one year. The primary motivation? COVID-19.
This data is encouraging, but it shouldn’t take a global pandemic to motivate young people to take estate planning seriously. The truth is, all adults over 18 should have a plan in place. This isn’t about how much money you have; it’s about controlling your own life, assets, and medical decisions. Whether you’re married, single, have kids, or are just starting your career, a plan ensures your wishes are followed, not the default ones set by a court.
If you’re still on the fence, here are five crucial reasons why you shouldn’t wait another day.
Key Takeaways
- Estate Planning is for Everyone: You don’t need to be wealthy or elderly to need a plan. If you have assets (even just a bank account), personal wishes, and loved ones, you need a plan.
- Plan for Incapacity, Not Just Death: A key part of your plan protects you while you are alive by appointing people to make medical and financial decisions if you can’t.
- A Plan is More Than a Will: Key documents include a will, advance directives (healthcare proxy, living will), a financial power of attorney, and potentially a trust to avoid court.
- Avoid Court and Conflict: A primary goal is to keep your family out of the slow, expensive, and public probate court system and prevent disputes over your assets or your care.
1. Incapacity Leaves You Vulnerable
Most people assume estate planning only comes into play after death, but that’s a dangerous misconception. For young, healthy adults, planning for a potential incapacity is arguably even more important than planning for death. Incapacity isn’t just a risk for the elderly; it can happen to anyone at any time due to a sudden illness, a sporting injury, or a car accident.
If you become incapacitated without a plan, you have no say in what happens next. Your family would be forced to petition the court to appoint a guardian or conservator to manage your affairs. This process is:
- Public: Your private medical and financial details become part of the public record.
- Expensive: The legal fees and court costs are paid from your assets.
- Slow: It can take weeks or months to get a hearing, leaving your bills unpaid and your medical care in limbo.
- Traumatic: Your loved ones may be forced to “prove” your incapacity in a public courtroom, a deeply stressful experience.
A judge, who doesn’t know you, could appoint a family member you’d never want in control or even a total stranger (a “professional guardian”), giving them complete control over your life, your assets, and your medical care.
The Solution: A Trio of Incapacity Documents This is the core of planning for incapacity. You can legally designate the people you trust to make decisions for you.
- A Healthcare Proxy (or Healthcare Power of Attorney): This legally names a person you trust (your “agent”) to make medical decisions for you when you can’t. This isn’t just about end-of-life care; it’s about talking to doctors, accessing your medical records (which they can’t do otherwise due to HIPAA laws), and consenting to procedures or treatments on your behalf.
- A Living Will (or Advance Directive): This document details your personal wishes regarding end-of-life care, such as your feelings on life support or artificial nutrition. This is a profound gift to your loved ones, as it removes an impossible decision-making burden from their shoulders during a time of crisis.
- A Durable Financial Power of Attorney: This grants someone you choose the immediate authority to manage your financial life. This agent can pay your rent or mortgage, access your bank accounts to cover bills, file your taxes, and manage your investments, ensuring your life doesn’t fall apart financially while you recover.
2. Ensure Your Kids Are Raised By People You Trust
If you are the parent of minor children, this is your number-one priority. Without an estate plan that names legal guardians for your kids, a judge will decide who raises them.
A judge’s only guide is a vague “best interest of the child” standard. They don’t know your parenting values, your religious beliefs, or your family dynamics. They could pick a well-meaning family member who you would never want to raise your children—someone with different financial habits, a conflicting parenting style, or who lives across the country.
Even worse, if you have multiple relatives who want to step in (which is common), they could end up in a long, ugly, and expensive custody battle, fighting each other in court while your children are trapped in the middle, often in the foster care system.
The Solution: Name Guardians in Your Will Your will is the only place to legally name long-term guardians for your minor children. This is the single most important instruction you can give a judge.
But a will isn’t enough to protect your kids from being temporarily taken into the care of Child Protective Services. This is so critical that we’ve developed a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan to guide you step-by-step. This plan names both short-term “first responders” (local friends or neighbors who can be with your kids immediately) and long-term legal guardians (the people who will raise them). This proactive step provides your children with stability and security, ensuring they are always cared for by the trusted individuals you choose.
3. Control Who Inherits Your Assets
If you die without a plan, you don’t get a say in who gets your assets. Your state’s “intestate succession” laws—a cold, one-size-fits-all formula—will apply. These laws prioritize spouses and blood relatives in a rigid order.
This means:
- An unmarried partner of ten years could get nothing.
- A close friend who has been like family to you gets nothing.
- A favorite charity or cause you care about gets nothing.
- Your assets could go to parents or siblings with whom you have a strained relationship.
- If no legally-defined relatives can be found, your entire estate goes to the state.
Even if you’re married, state law might not reflect your wishes. For example, if you have children from a previous relationship, the court could give a large portion (or all) of your assets to your new spouse, potentially leaving your children with nothing.
The Solution: A Will and Updated Beneficiaries A will ensures your assets—your home, your bank accounts, your sentimental items—are distributed exactly as you wish.
Equally important is keeping your beneficiary designations updated. Your retirement accounts (like a 401k or IRA) and life insurance policies are separate contracts. They pass to the person you named on the beneficiary form, regardless of what your will says. It is essential to review these designations after any major life event, like a marriage, divorce, or new child, to ensure they align with your current wishes.
4. Keep Your Family Out of Court and Conflict
If you die with only a will (or no plan at all), you are forcing your family into probate. This is the public court process for settling your estate, and it’s notoriously slow, expensive, and public.
Here’s what probate actually looks like: your will is filed with the court (becoming a public document), an executor is appointed, all your assets are frozen, creditors are notified, and a public inventory of everything you own is created. This process can take months or even years, and the legal fees can drain the assets you intended to leave for your loved ones.
Because the entire affair is public, it can also invite conflict. Disgruntled relatives can see exactly who got what and have a legal forum to contest the will, leading to devastating family fights.
The Solution: A Revocable Living Trust The expense and drama of probate can be almost entirely avoided. Using a Revocable Living Trust allows your assets to pass directly to your family upon your death or incapacity, with no court intervention required. You transfer your assets into the trust during your lifetime, and a designated “successor trustee” (who you choose) steps in to manage those assets privately according to your written instructions. This saves your family time, money, and stress during an already difficult time.
5. Minimize the Mess for Your Loved Ones
Beyond the legal documents, consider the practical, logistical mess you’ll leave behind if you’re suddenly gone. Someone will have to deal with all of your “stuff”—every piece of mail, every subscription, every single account.
Now, imagine them also trying to figure out what you own, where it is, and how to access it.
- Physical Mess: What about your pets? Your gym membership? Your streaming service subscriptions? Your car payment?
- Digital Mess: This is a huge, modern problem. What happens to your social media accounts, your thousands of digital photos in cloud storage, your cryptocurrency wallets, your domain names, an Etsy shop, or your password manager? Without instructions, your digital life could be lost forever, or worse, fall into the wrong hands.
The Solution: A Comprehensive Life & Legacy Plan A proper plan isn’t just legal documents; it’s a “user manual” for your life. It includes a complete inventory of your assets—both physical and digital. It provides clear instructions for your loved ones, listing account numbers, passwords (or location of a password manager), and contacts. Including digital assets in your plan and designating someone to manage them ensures your online presence and valuable digital information are handled according to your wishes. This organization minimizes the burden on your family, making it as easy as possible for them to handle things.
The End of Making Excuses
While the pandemic inspired many to act, over a third of Americans still don’t think estate planning is important. As we’ve outlined, not having a plan can be incredibly traumatic and costly for both you and your loved ones. You simply cannot afford to put it off.
At Horizon Law, our services go far beyond simply creating documents. We are focused on creating personalized estate planning solutions for young families. We will guide you step-by-step to ensure you have taken all the proper precautions to spare your loved ones from needless stress and expense.
The biggest benefit is the peace of mind that comes from knowing your loved ones will be provided for and cared for, no matter what happens to you. Contact us today to schedule your consultation and check this urgent task off your to-do list.
