Caring.com conducts annual surveys that keep track of the percentage of adults who have an estate plan. They have released their 2024 findings. They found that only 32 percent of American adults are prepared from an estate planning perspective.
For millennials, the figure is about 25 percent. While it is true that people who are between the ages of 28 and 43 do not usually pass away, it happens every day. As a case in point, look no further than the Kobe Bryant tragedy that included his daughter and other young people.
Parents of Dependent Children
The worst part about this unpreparedness among young adults is the fact that people in this age group are typically the parents of minor children.
If you are one of them, where would your family be if your income vanished suddenly? Who would take care of your children if both parents passed away in an accident?
You are putting your children and your partner at risk when you go through life without an estate plan.
Estate Plan Essentials
There is no one-size-fits-all estate plan that is right for everyone. This is because different circumstances can exist. At the same time, some bases must be covered regardless of your situation.
When it comes to the parents of minors, you should have a will within which you can name a guardian for your children. There is also the financial part of the equation. Here, you have to designate someone to manage assets on behalf of your minor children.
To accomplish this objective, you could establish a living trust. You would be the trustee while you are living. This allows you to control the assets while you are alive and well. In the trust declaration, you name a trustee who will administer the trust after your passing.
A lot of relatively young people have not been able to save a whole lot of money, and this is understandable. Fortunately, there is a solution in the form of life insurance. Term life insurance is affordable, and a trust can be the beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
Incapacity Planning Component
The other important base that must be covered when you are establishing a rudimentary estate plan is the incapacity planning component. People sometimes become unable to communicate decisions after they have been in devastating accidents, and there are incapacitating illnesses.
From a financial perspective, you can name an agent in a durable power of attorney for property. This person would make financial decisions for you if necessary. If you have a living trust, you can designate a disability trustee to take over as the trustee in the event of your incapacity.
Advance directives are another consideration. One of them is a living will, which is used to record your life-support utilization preferences. You can also include organ and tissue donation and pain relief medication preferences.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is in place to protect patient privacy. A provision in this measure prevents medical professionals from communicating healthcare information with anyone other than the patient.
Because of this, your healthcare decision-maker would not have the necessary information unless you include a HIPAA release in your incapacity plan.
Access Our Estate Planning Worksheet!
We have developed an estate planning worksheet that you can go through to gain a renewed understanding of this important process. There is no charge, so you should definitely take advantage of the opportunity to build on your knowledge.
To get your copy, head over to our worksheet access page and follow the simple instructions.
We Are Here to Help!
Our doors are open if you would like to work with an Oklahoma City estate planning lawyer to put a plan in place. You can call us at 405-843-6100 to schedule a consultation appointment, and you can alternately send us a message through our contact page.
We also have an office in Tulsa, and that location can be reached at 918-615-2700.
Since founding Parman & Easterday in 1985, Larry has led over 1,000 free, community-service education programs and helped more than 10,000 Oklahoma families go from putting off their estate plan to getting it done. His goal for every client is the same: to become the person their family calls "the one who took care of everything."
Larry is the author of three books: The Straight Shooter's Guide to Estate Planning; Estate Planning Basics; and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma. He served as Oklahoma's Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce, and his firm is the only member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys in the state.
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