Many individuals may be under the common misconception that estate planning and wills are only for older Texas residents. However, age should not be considered a determining factor when it comes to deciding if it is time to draft a will or begin one’s estate planning process. Indeed, wills are important because they instruct the people who survive a deceased loved one on how that person may have wanted possessions and financial assets to be distributed and divided in the wake of death.
Young people are especially at risk of not having a will and estate plan on file. If those individuals happen to be parents, the need for a will is particularly evident. That is because if a parent has not created a will, then guardianship decisions regarding his or her children will be made by the state judicial system after a person dies.
Some Texas residents may also want to consider the creation of a living trust in order to prevent their heirs and relatives from having to experience the frustration of probate court proceedings. A living trust permits ownership of one’s assets to be transferred into a trust. A successor trustee can be named in trust paperwork, and after one’s death, control over the trust’s assets will be transferred to that successor (or successors), which will bypass the probate court requirement.
Writing a will and the estate planning process in general is never easy because it requires the contemplation of one’s demise. However, by thinking of the benefits an estate plan can offer to relatives left behind, most Texas residents can find the motivation to complete the process. Hopefully, one’s estate plan will not need to be used for a very long time, but it is best to prepare these documents now rather than before it is too late.
Source: uppermichiganssource.com, “When writing a will is a good idea“, Kelsey Niemisto, June 4, 2014