A common myth: “Estate planning is only for old people.”  This is not true!  Estate planning is important for young families as well.  Thinking about, discussing, and planning for death is not pleasant, especially for the young family just getting settled.  But tragedy is an unfortunate reality of our world, and having an estate plan can minimize legal pitfalls with tragic situations.

I am often asked: “When should I do my estate planning?”  My answer to this question is simple: “Right now.”  Simply put, estate planning is important regardless of your circumstances.  But I focus my attention in this blog series on a large, but sometimes overlooked, contingent of the population: the Young Family.

The Young Family

The “Young Family” typically is a couple in the age range of 25 and 50, although they could be a few years younger or older.  This includes those who are just getting started in their careers and those who are more settled.  Typical assets of a Young Family may include a home, retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and other investment assets.  The key element of a Young Family is one or more children under the age of 19.  While estate planning is important in any circumstance, it is vitally important when the Young Family grows.

Why Estate Planning is Necessary for the Young Family

Proper estate planning addresses common legal pitfalls associated with the death of an individual.  For instance, if one spouse passes away, Alabama law does not automatically give all property to a surviving spouse if there are children.  This fact often comes as a complete surprise when I mention it to families.  A Will avoids that outcome by specifically directing any property to the surviving spouse.

If both spouses pass away and the children are under the age of 19, other issues arise.  Minors are not able to own property in Alabama or enter into contracts.  The Will addresses this issue by directing property into a trust for the benefit of the minor children.  The property in the trust is then used for the children’s benefit until the trust is directed to terminate.  This type of estate planning avoids a complex and expensive proceeding that would be necessary if there were no estate plan.

The Will also directs who the parents would like to take custody of their children in the event of a tragedy.  This appointment is important because the parents’ wishes are clearly communicated.  This appointment can avoid fighting and confusion among family members and provide some semblance of stability to the children in the event of such a tragic event.

In my practice, I regularly see first-hand the complex and unfortunate consequences that arise when a family has no plan in place.  In my experience, the Young Family is one of the most underserved groups when it comes to estate planning.  I hope that this series will illustrate why estate planning is so important for the Young Family.

Roadmap of Future Blog Posts

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting a series of blog posts discussing various aspects of estate planning for the Young Family.  Future blog posts will discuss matters related to: (1) the creation and necessity of a trust, (2) the appointment of a guardian for minor children, (3) the “other documents” associated with estate planning for the Young Family, (4) what creating an estate plan typically looks like from beginning of representation to the execution of documents, and (5) when you should update estate planning documents. 

Disclaimer

This blog series is meant to be informational only.  This blog series discusses general principles associated with estate planning for the Young Family, but your specific situation may differ slightly.  Therefore, this blog series not meant to provide specific legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship unless one is specifically entered into by you and Rosen Harwood, P.A. 

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment to discuss estate planning, please feel free to call or send me an email.  You may access my contact information by clicking the “view profile” button linked below.