Don’t assume that you can take care of the plan later.
Estate planning can run into two problems: not taking care of the initial planning and then not following up with adjusting for life changes, according to the Sunshine Daily Coast in “Fix your will before it’s too late.”
What is the problem with not taking care of the initial planning? You don’t have any plan at all. What is the problem with putting off making necessary changes to an estate plan? Once you have a plan, it is the one a court will follow, until you change it.
If you have stated in your will that someone should inherit your property and you change your mind for whatever reason, the change has no legal effect until you actually create a new will.
If something happens to you before you create that new will, then the person you do not want to inherit the property actually will.
It is never a good idea to procrastinate in any area of estate planning.
Don’t put it off. An estate planning attorney can advise you on creating an estate plan that fits your unique circumstances and then you should be sure to keep the plan up to date to include life changes.
Reference: Sunshine Coast Daily (Oct. 2, 2017) “Fix your will before it’s too late.”
