Jeff Fouts: “Estate Planning Attorney Jeff Fouts here. I have discovered that even if someone has an estate plan, they just sign it and forget it. Interesting. Why is that? Maybe you have an old estate plan that you got when your children were younger. Maybe you got it when you were traveling on business, and your wife made you get it, or maybe you were going on a special trip and got an estate plan.
The upshot is that even if people have an estate plan, it’s normally old, or it’s outdated. It needs updating. That’s the reality. People don’t update their estate plan due to the fact that they perceive they are busy. They’ve got a lot of things to do. Another reason is that estate planning is rarely at the top of a person’s To-Do list.
Estate planning, or updating your estate plan, is oftentimes the last thing on your To-Do list. Why? Because it’s the least fun thing to do. What’s more fun than that? “OK, I got to go get my tooth pulled. That’s more fun than estate planning.” We’re being a little silly here to make the point.
My clients are folks who are pre-retirees and retirees. My clients travel some. They go visit the kids, the grandkids. Maybe they take a summer trip. Maybe a lifetime trip that they’ve always wanted. The result of all this is more procrastination.
I would encourage you to not let procrastination stand in between you and having a good estate plan that will actually work for you and your family. If we could ever help you, maybe reviewing your estate plan, just let us know. Thank you.”
