Millennials, don鈥檛 forget estate planning
It鈥檚 not a surprise that people in their 20s and 30s wouldn鈥檛 have estate planning at the top of their minds. But that鈥檚 a big mistake, says one financial planner.
Millennials enjoy a cafe operating out of Miller's Point, a retrofitted factory in the Remington-Charles Village neighborhood, on January 13, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/海角大神/File
Ask millennials to write down a list of their plans, and it鈥檚 likely to be chock-full of career accomplishments and vacation experiences. Graduating, getting a great job, getting married, starting a family, buying a home and traveling are likely to be high on the list.
Odds are you鈥檒l be on Page 5 or 6 before you get to estate planning.
It鈥檚 not a surprise that people in their 20s and 30s wouldn鈥檛 have聽聽at the top of their mind. After all, the creation of legal documents such as living wills, last wills and testaments, powers of attorney for medical and financial well-being, and potential trusts is a foreign concept to many people, especially those who aren鈥檛 married or don鈥檛 have children. Many people assume you don鈥檛 need to work on those plans until your 50s or 60s.
That鈥檚 a big mistake. The reality is that everyone needs聽to be thinking about estate planning.
The millennial view of money
Many millennials have embarked on parenthood, caregiving and other stressful responsibilities. But they tend to view money from an entirely different perspective from聽preceding generations.
Growing up in the shadow of the recession and under the weight of sometimes crippling聽, many millennials are responsible with their finances, contrary to sky-is-falling reports.
Being good with money, though, isn鈥檛 enough. Part of being fiscally responsible is planning for the long term.聽More than 60% of Americans don鈥檛 have a will, according to a聽. That needs to change.
The benefits of estate planning
No matter where you are in your financial life, it pays to think about estate planning.
A full estate plan can include health care directives that cover your preferences for how you want doctors to administer your care聽if you become incapacitated.
Estate plans also include appointing a durable power of attorney to oversee your finances and personal affairs if you鈥檙e unable to do so.聽This is especially important to the many millennials who are living with a partner but have decided they don鈥檛 want to sign a marriage license. That may be perfectly fine for their relationship, but it can be a problem under the law. Creating estate planning documents can ensure your partner has the legal rights to oversee your care or estate, if that is what you want.
For families with children, estate plans are especially important. A good estate plan lets you appoint a guardian for your children should something ever happen to you and directs how you want your inheritance bequeathed. You get to decide.
Online legal document companies offer legal documents at a great price. You may also want to consult a聽financial advisor, who can help direct you in the best ways to set up聽your financial plan and assets.
Then come up with an estate plan that suits your needs and go get those documents signed. Don鈥檛 wait another week.
聽is the founding partner of聽聽in Irvine, Calif.聽Learn more about Winnie at NerdWallet鈥檚聽.
This story originally appeared on .