According to USA Today, nearly 60% of Americans don't have a basic will. There are all kinds of reasons for this oversight. Some people just haven't gotten around to creating a will and some get overwhelmed when they ponder the ins and outs of estate planning. Another reason for the lack of estate planning is that this large, affluent, baby boomer group is known for its “fun-seeking” reputation and is not renowned for its “planning” prowess.Without a will, when maturing boomers die, often their sizeable estates are distributed according to state laws and are subject to probate, leaving it up to the government to decide how their estate is divided. Probate does allow for clean titling of their assets to go directly to their next of kin but probate matters are made public and anybody is allowed to make a claim against the descendant’s property. By checking a local paper, anyone can see examples of estates filing for probate.
What most boomers don’t realize is that by drafting a simple will, most of their estate plans will be taken care of and their heirs would be saved from the headache of having to properly distribute their assets. A will does the following:
· It allows the descendant to give away their property (that is in their name) to those they want to have the property.
· It allows the descendant to nominate an executor to take care of all of their last affairs, and
· If necessary, it allows the descendant to nominate a guardian for their minor children.
Obviously, by dying without a will, then these three things won’t be carried out and are three good reasons why baby boomers should seek legal advice, if they haven't already done so, to have their wills drawn.
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Once again, I find myself drawn to your blog. It seems each article you write about, I am guilty of not doing what I am or was suppose to do to ensure my retirement. This time, its wills, well I am one of the 60% who does not have a will. My reason, is I have no children or spouse to worry about, so I don't really care what happens to my "stuff" when I'm dead.
ReplyDeleteadh50
You make some good points about the need for a will and the reasons most of us don't create one. Of course, we're learning in Probate I that even though there's a will, the estate may not always be distributed per the decendent's wishes. Great information.
ReplyDeleteYour article is very true. My father just had his will rewritten, and he called me to ask me what I thought about how he was going to distribute his tools that he has collected over the years.
ReplyDeleteI do have a will of my own, but it is outdated. I had it made after my divorce 12 years ago and had provisions in there for my (then) minor children. Well, I am remarried now and my children are all grown up.
This is one thing that a lot of people (including myself) dont think about. Even if we do the right thing and do make up a will, the will should be updated at least once every 5 years or so. For there are things that get sold, stolen, or destroyed by natural disaters (and I am not talking about kids here).
I agree, wills are very important to anyone from the age of 18 and older.
Baby Boomers sure do seem to be having problems. We don't have wills and Social Security is going to be bankrupt when we're ready to retire. It makes yo wonder what will be next. Thank you for the information.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I really need to start putting pictures in my blog as well. It makes the whole thing pop.
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