Myth 1 – I Don’t Own Anything; I Don’t Need a Will
Caring.com’s 2024 Wills Survey found that 40% of Americans don’t think they have enough assets to create a will. Only 32% of Americans have a will.
Every person over the age of 18 should have an estate plan, regardless of your financial situation. We all have assets that need to be transferred upon our death – think cars, bank accounts, the things in our homes, maybe our home or real estate that we own. Anyone who has children also needs to think about what happens with the kids if both parents are gone suddenly. These are estate planning fundamentals.
Estate planning goes so much further. Who gets to make medical decisions for us if we can’t? Who gets to work with our banks, landlords, people we owe money to if we can’t? Who is going to get and take care of your pets? Perhaps you want to avoid probate altogether. These are all estate planning topics to discuss with an attorney.
The reality is that if you don’t have a will, it is going to be significantly more expensive to transfer the car, the bank account, or the house than if you had a will. Probate in Texas without a will can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000, over $1,000 of which are case filing fees and other required expenses.
If you don’t have an estate plan, the State of Texas has a one-size fits all plan, and you’re not going to like it! You don’t like a certain family member, and you don’t want them to get part of your bank account – Texas doesn’t care. You don’t like a certain family member, and you don’t want them to own part of your house – Texas doesn’t care. Estate planning overrides Texas law.
Estate plans often include the following:
- A Will, or will alternative
- A Statutory Durable Power of Attorney – the person who can make decisions about your things,
- A Medical Power of Attorney,
- A HIPAA Release,
- A Directive to Physicians – Commonly known as a Living Will,
- A Declaration of Guardian – to tell a judge who you want making decisions if a Guardianship is created, and
- An Appointment of Disposition of Remains – the person authorized to pick up your remains
The list above is not an exhaustive list of documents, and speaking with an attorney will identify the best documents for your situation.
The main takeaway is that everyone has assets; everyone needs a will; everyone needs help legally making life decisions when they can’t. Put your estate planning documents in place so that whenever the time comes – the law doesn’t get in the way of what you want.
Contact DebnamRust to schedule a consultation to see what estate planning documents are right for you and move beyond the myth that you don’t own enough to have an estate plan!