Multiple news sources reported that only 33% of people have any estate planning documents at all. I know most people know who they would want their money and possessions to go to when they die. So why don’t they put it in writing? I am sure there are many reasons, with the most common being procrastination. People put it off.
I help families with probate when loved ones pass away without an estate plan. For many, the default plan (intestate) that the state has for you is what you would want, equally to your kids, but when that is not what you want or you have no kids, stepchildren, or “found family,” they won’t get anything unless you write it down.
I have that estate in court right now. The widow had “found family,” neighbors who had become like her own children. She told lots of people she wanted them to get everything when she died. Her biological family was really small; she was an only child and had no children. We had to find her heirs, and her estate is going to distant cousins she never met. It is so sad that her “family” won’t get anything.
If you are part of the 67% who have no plan, give me a call. Don’t let those you love be left with nothing.
