All too often, people will say that they’re too young to make an estate plan. If you ask someone in their 30s if they’ve written a will yet, they’ll tell you that they want to, but they’re planning to do it later. They may not even really think of this as procrastinating. They just believe they don’t need a will yet.
But the reality is that you can’t be too young for estate planning. There are always benefits. Anyone over 18 can make an estate plan, and there are some significant reasons why you may want to do so.
What if you’re incapacitated?
First and foremost, no matter what age you are, what happens if you become incapacitated through a disease or an injury? You need someone to take care of your financial needs. You need someone to make medical decisions for you, or at least to work with your medical team. And to do all of this, you can make an estate plan where you choose an agent through a power of attorney. You give your agent the ability to make financial, legal, or medical decisions on your behalf.
What if you have children?
Another thing to remember is that new parents can often use estate plans. You may need to pick a guardian for your child. You may want to set up a trust that can hold your assets until the child is no longer a minor. Just because that child is a newborn or a toddler doesn’t mean that it won’t help to have a plan in place. As you and your child grow up, you can always update the plan to reflect where your life is at and what your child needs.
As you can see, you can do estate planning at almost any age. Just be sure you know what legal steps to take.