Is Estate Planning Just For The Elderly?
Is estate planning just for the elderly? Simple answer: NO. But the problem is that whilst it’s important for everyone, those that are busy never seem to get around to it. Getting your affairs in order may be on your ‘list of things to do’ for a long time, and sometimes it’s not until something happens to someone close to you, or you plan an overseas trip, that you actually do something about it.
Whilst there is a greater likelihood that the elderly’s estate planning will be implemented, it can actually be more critical to get your estate planning sorted out whilst you have young children. Or, I even tell people that as soon as someone turns 18 years old, and if they’ve been working, then they will have over $200,000 in life insurance in their superannuation which needs attention.
As parents of young children, you really need to ensure you have guardians appointed, or else the decision will be taken out of your hands. I have written a few articles on this:
- 7 Errors Parents Make Appointing Guardians for Their Children
- Case Study: Why You Need to Appoint Guardians For Your Children, and
- 5 Tips for Appointing Guardians for your Children
Estate planning doesn’t just mean your Will, although that is a crucial part of it. Estate planning covers all the following areas, and should involve a collaboration between your lawyer, financial planner and accountant:
- Wills and Powers of Attorney
- Superannuation and Binding Death Benefit Nominations
- Ownership structure of assets
- Taxation considerations
- Testamentary trusts, and
- Life insurance and income protection
Accidents happen, and young fit people die whilst playing sport, or in car accidents. But please don’t think that you are invincible.
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