One reason that people put off doing their estate planning is just that they know things are going to get more complicated in the future. Say you’re 35 years of age and simply working to raise your children and make ends meet. In 40 years, you know your investments will be worth a lot more, your own parents will have left you an inheritance and everything about your finances will be more complex.
Should you just wait until that point to make an estate plan that works?
Making adjustments to your estate plan over time is normal
This mindset does get one thing right: You need a plan that addresses your current lifestyle, assets and needs. You don’t want a plan that is outdated by a decade and no longer reflects what you wanted to accomplish.
However, you don’t have to wait to make that plan. You can easily get a plan in place now and then make adjustments every so often as your life changes.
For example, one of the biggest estate planning points for young parents is picking a guardian for the children. You absolutely want to do that at 35, if your kids are minors. Sure, that information becomes outdated when they become adults, but you can easily remove those parts of your plan at that time and add in new parts that address your inheritance, your retirement funds and more complex financial assets.
Creating a plan for the future of your family
There is no right or wrong time to make an estate plan. There are always tools that you can use at any stage in life. Just make sure you know what they are and how to create and update your plan.