One morning you wake up and ask yourself, “Where has the time gone?” Your babies are now adults and likely parents themselves. You have done your job of raising responsible adults with lives of their own. You have taught them right from wrong, how to treat others, and many other important life skills. Although they are off on their own, you still worry and want to protect them from all of life’s uncertainties.
The question of what will happen to your children without you or their own partner will be answered someday. In preparation for the unexpected and the inevitable, it is important to set up a proper estate plan. It not only makes sense for you, but it is equally important for your adult children. For those who have young children, drafting an estate plan is absolutely essential. Without sufficient planning, your family’s future will likely be decided by the judicial system. A prospect that makes most of us shudder.
WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?
Even though your children are now grown, there are many areas of concern about which parents of adult children still worry. One of which is that many adult children of baby boomers do not even have a Simple Will in place, let alone a comprehensive estate plan for their family should something happen to them. Couple their lack of an estate plan with the very real possibility that the assets or wealth you envision passing on to them can quite easily be lost to divorces, remarriages, lawsuits, and/or simple poor money management. What if part of your legacy is to promote and provide education for your heirs and there’s nothing left for that purpose?
“Shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations.” Basically, this means the one who earned the wealth by working hard and rolling up their sleeves, has had that entire wealth lost by their third generation. Sadly, it is far too common that wealth is lost within three generations because heirs are not prepared and assets are not protected with an estate plan.
If your children have no estate plan of their own in place, there are many ways they can quickly lose the hard-earned inheritance you planned to pass on, as well as the one they planned to leave to your grandchildren. These are easily preventable losses.
As we know, with life comes change. Some changes bring joy and happiness, like your daughter’s wedding day or the birth of your first grandchild. Other changes may bring heartache or financial hardship. These life cycles of change play out every day in every home, leaving no family immune to them. Talking to and ensuring that your children create effective estate plans will provide your family with peace of mind knowing they are all financially secure, even if the unexpected happens.
