I am often asked, “Do I have to do any estate planning?” The answer is “No.” You don’t have to do anything at all. You can simply leave everything the way it is, cross your fingers and hope everything works out the way you want. I explain to people, “You don’t have to do anything, but since the law provides you with legal tools to make life easier, why wouldn’t you want to avail yourself of those tools?”
Most of these people say, “I don’t have enough stuff to worry about estate planning.” In truth, the less you have, the more you have to lose.
You spend so much of your life trying to build a home for your family, security for your loved ones, so why wouldn’t you want to protect yourself and your family? If you were on a boat that was facing troubled waters, wouldn’t you want to have a life preserver on board?
Again, you can certainly do nothing, but the law can be cruel to those who choose that route. Some say the system is to blame. However, with the right documents, you can often defeat “the system.” I have a current client named John who is 73 years of age. He has a son who is 42 years old. A few weeks ago, his son fell and suffered a brain injury. He took his son to the emergency room where tests were conducted, x-rays taken, etc.
He called me a few days later and said, “Robert, I need you to create a ‘power of attorney’ for my son because the hospital won’t give me his medical records.” I explained, “John, I can’t get your son to sign a document unless he has the necessary capacity. If he had documents in place, you might have been able to help him, but now it may be too late.” As it turns out, John is going to have to go to court to seek a conservatorship over his son. Only then will the hospital and doctors deal with him. The “system” may be to blame but there are tools to help.
John’s son certainly had a plan and it was to “do nothing,” the most popular estate plan available. However, now his family is struggling with the fruits of his plan. They are facing thousands of dollars in court fees and months of delay when a few simple documents might have prevented that. Ask yourself if your family has the necessary legal documents and a solid estate plan. If not, then why not?
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