Estate Planning: Emotions Often Lead to Inaction

Caring.com conducts surveys periodically to keep a finger on the pulse of the estate planning preparedness of Americans. The results are never encouraging, but things are actually getting worse.

Their latest survey that has been conducted this year has found that the number of people who have a will or another estate planning document in place has decreased by 25 percent over the last three years. At this time, just 32 percent of adults in the United States have made the appropriate preparations.

As you might imagine, the vast majority of younger people are completely unprepared. Just over 27 percent of individuals that are between the ages of 24 and 54 have estate plans in place. What is really surprising is the fact that the figure is 47.9 percent for those that are 55 years of age and older.

Why do people fail to plan ahead for something that is definitely going to happen to everyone? There are emotional factors that enter the picture, and we will look at a handful of them here.

The Word We Do Not Say

Everyone seems to dance around the word “death,” and mortality is rarely discussed on a personal level. A lot of people do not take action from an estate planning perspective because they simply do not want to think about the subject.

While this mentality is embedded in our culture to some extent, it is something to be transcended because a lack of planning can yield bad consequences.

Losing Control

Another reason for estate planning inaction is the fear of a loss of control. When you envision someone else taking responsibility for all of your resources, the whole idea can be disconcerting.

This is one of the reasons why a lot of people are not interested in the possibility of creating a trust. They think that they would lose control of assets they convey into a trust, and they would not be accessible if they were ever needed.

The most commonly used type of trust is a revocable living trust, and you would in fact maintain total control throughout your life if you were to establish a revocable living trust.

At some point, the inevitable will take place. If the perception of a loss of control is holding you back, please understand that you do not have to give up control to protect the interests of your loved ones.

Privacy and Cost Concerns

You may understand that you should have a plan in place, but the thought of dealing with an attorney can make you nervous. Without question, it can be difficult to share personal information with someone you have just met.

We got into this particular field because we want to provide the necessary assistance to our neighbors. Over the years, we have developed relationships with countless different people, and we will work to help you feel at ease from the start if you choose to work with our firm.

Aside from this factor, some people drag their feet because they have concerns about the monetary part of the equation.

This should not deter you because the costs of planning are minimal compared to the costs of not planning.  The cost of planning should be viewed as an investment since the right planning choices can save your family money, time, frustration, and potentially disputes in the long run.

Schedule a Consultation Right Now!

If you are going through life without an estate, you are doing your family a disservice. You should take action sooner rather than later to address this core responsibility of adulthood.

We can be reached by phone at 704-944-3245 if you would like to schedule an appointment in our Charlotte, North Carolina, or Huntersville, North Carolina office, and the number in Kentucky is 606-324-5516 (Ashland, KY) or 859-372-6655 (Florence, KY). You can alternately send us a message through our contact page to request an appointment.