In Your 20s and Think You’re Too Young for an Estate Plan? Think Again!

We all think nothing bad can happen to us, especially when we are still young and in our 20s. But accidents do happen, and you want to be ready. Hopefully, your accident isn’t too severe, and you will soon recover. But it’s not always that easy. As the saying goes, plan for the worst but expect the best. You need to understand that you’re never too young for an estate plan.

What Is An Estate Plan?

You don’t have to be extremely wealthy to have an estate plan. It is a set of legal documents that will help manage your decisions and assets, either temporarily or after you pass away. You may own a car, bitcoins, money in the bank or home… and you want a say in how to distribute your assets if you suddenly die.

Here are some documents to have in your estate plan:

• A will or trust
  With a will or trust, you name an executor (or trustee) and beneficiaries. Without either of these, the courts will disperse your belonging according to Illinois law, and your family may have little input on who gets what.
• Power of Attorney
  Once you turn 18 years old, your parents cannot sign any medical paperwork for you. A medical POA will permit them to act on your behalf.
• Health care directive
  If you cannot do so, a health care directive tells the doctors and hospital your wishes for medical care.
• Retirement accounts
  You’re not close to retirement, but your job may offer retirement accounts. An estate plan will ensure that your IRA or 401(k) beneficiaries are consistent with those in your will or trust.
• Bitcoins and digital assets
  You’ll want to ensure your cyber currency, online businesses and other digital assets have a named beneficiary. Otherwise, your assets may be lost when you pass away.

And don’t forget – you’ll want an ‘In Case of Emergency‘ document to let your loved ones know that you have an estate plan and how to access your documents.

While you may not be close to retirement or (hopefully) death, you are never too young for an estate plan. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you for years to come.

Oak Brook Estate Planning Attorney

Even though you are still young, having an estate plan will give you peace of mind. With expert guidance from the estate planning attorneys at Estate & Probate Legal Group in Illinois, we can help make this happen. Contact us today at 630-864-5835.

AREAS WE SERVE: DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will counties.