You and your spouse have recently gotten married, and you plan to grow your family—perhaps you have a child on the way, or one has already been born. It is a common misconception that estate planning is not something you will need until you are older, after you have had an opportunity to grow your net worth. However, this line of thinking fails to account for what is (or will be) the most precious thing in you and your spouse’s life—the child(ren) you have or that are or will be on the way.
Without an estate plan, if you and your spouse were to predecease your children while they were minors, those children would end up being cared for by a court-appointed guardian. This process could be long, contentious, and costly. Most importantly, however, you would not have a say on who ultimately raised your minor children or managed any assets that you left to those minor children. This would all be decided by the Court.
There are many reasons to create an estate plan when you are young. Probably the most important reason though, if you have children or are planning to have children, is to ensure that those children are cared and their money from you managed for by someone you trust in the unfortunate event that something happens to you and your spouse.
If you find yourself planning to start a family and have not yet established an estate plan, the attorneys at Withered Burns, LLP are happy to sit down with you and discuss your needs.