2019 is officially upon us. If you’re like most people, the beginning of a new year is a time to contemplate what changes might make your life more simple, manageable, or easy to enjoy. For many, these changes include traditional goals, such as improving diet or getting back in the gym. While such resolutions are laudable, there’s an even more significant life change that you should seriously consider to kickoff 2019: getting your will and other estate planning documents drafted.
Taking the time to have your estate planning documents created is a responsibility that everyone should take on eventually. Here’s why: Without the required legal paperwork in place after your passing, your surviving heirs will be subject to a lengthy, complicated probate process that will be more expensive than what it would have cost you to draft a will. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that the family members you want to receive your worldly possessions will actually get them if your desires are not properly recorded in an official legal document.
Getting your estate planning finalized will also affect your own wellbeing. For instance, drafting your Medical Power of Attorney and Directive to Physicians documents will determine which decisions are made on your behalf should you ever become terminally ill or incapacitated later in life. Under such circumstances, some people prefer to be kept alive by medical machinery for as long as possible, while others prefer to pass away naturally. Whatever your personal preference may be, it’s important that you legally document that preference.
The thought of starting a New Year resolution can turn the most ambitious of us into procrastinators. However, unlike other resolutions that require daily maintenance to uphold, getting your estate planning documents drafted and ratified can be completed in two visits or less to an attorney’s office. Best of all, once they’re completed, they will last a lifetime.
If you’re interested in making estate planning one of your 2019 resolutions, call Hailey-Petty Law Firm at (512) 910-8977 to schedule your free 30-minute consultation.
*Note: additional fees may apply for consultations longer than the allotted 30 minutes.