Estate Planning For Millennials
Millennials face many complex challenges, from dealing with student loan debt to keeping up with the ever-changing financial and job market. They grew up in an entirely different world than the boomers and Generation Xers did before them. Sound estate planning allows millennials to secure their futures while protecting their loved ones and leaving a lasting legacy. While estate planning is crucial for everyone, only about 33 percent of adults in the United States have a sound estate plan in place. While many millennials focus more on traveling the world and putting things like marrying and starting a family off, estate planning offers many advantages regardless of where you are in life currently. Call a lawyer today at Roulet Law Firm, P.A. at our Minnesota office at 763-420-5087 or our Florida office at 941-909-4644 if you have questions or need help with estate planning.
5 Reasons Millennials Need an Estate Plan
Millennials and people of all ages often mistakenly believe they do not need an estate plan. Whether people believe they are too young, or that they do not have enough wealth for estate planning, there is a vast range of misconceptions. However, a thorough estate plan is essential for adults of all ages. Estate planning allows an individual to choose the person to carry out the duties of an estate executor. According to the Minnesota Statutes Annotated ยง 524.3-203, the basic requirements for a Minnesota executor of the estate include being a minimum of 18 years old and of sound mind and judgment. While there are many benefits, five more of the most important reasons that millennials need estate plans include the following:
You Need a Will or a Trust
Estate planning with a Last Will and Testament, a trust, or both, depends on the unique wants, needs, and desires of the estate planner. Of the millennials with current estate plans, nearly 80 percent of them have a Last Will and Testament rather than a trust. Fewer than 20 percent of millennials have a trust as part of their estate plan. While a will is sufficient for many people's estate planning needs, there are also benefits to having a trust. Either way, a current will or trust allows planners to make important decisions, including choosing an estate representative and choosing beneficiaries.
Guardianship for Your Children
For millennials with children, estate planning allows them to select guardians should the time come when they are needed. They must take time to carefully pick the person they believe would be the most qualified to handle the responsibilities. Choosing a person with whom the children have a warm existing relationship is also essential.
Protect Your Pets
Many think of their pets as children and want to ensure they make a plan for their non-human companions should they become incapacitated or die. Given that Florida laws consider pets as personal, individually owned property, fur babies do not enjoy the same inheritance rights as children. However, estate planners can choose pet guardians or make a separate pet trust and name a grantor to manage its assets for the benefit of their surviving pets.
Protect Your Digital Assets
Millennials grew up in the digital age, and everyone has a digital footprint. Digital estate planning allows estate planners to determine what will happen to their digital assets after death. That includes any electronic record, such as online accounts, social media, email, online banking, cloud storage, etc. Some examples of digital assets include the following:
- PayPal and Venmo
- Email accounts
- Digital photographs
- Digital movies and books
- Social media, such as Facebook and Instagram
- Music accounts such as Spotify and Hulu
- Domain names, websites, and blogs
According to the Internal Revenue Service, digital assets represent value and include non-fungible tokens, convertible virtual currency, and cryptocurrency. However, digital assets do not include real currency issued from a government central bank. Making preparations for digital assets has been a critical part of every estate plan in recent years.
Choose Who Makes Health Decisions for You
Estate planning allows millennials to create a living will and medical power of attorney. A living will provide the planner's desires for medical treatment should they be unable to make or communicate those decisions for themselves in real time because of incapacitation. A medical power of attorney allows the individual to choose the person they wish to make the vital healthcare decisions on their behalf.
Why Millennials Are Estate Planning and Why You Should
Neglecting estate planning is a common mistake for many Americans of all ages, and that includes millennials. While those born between 1980 and 1997 are still in the prime of their lives, estate planning is a vital way to protect themselves and their loved ones. A lawyer at Roulet Law Firm, P.A. could review all of the options for estate planning for millennials during a private consultation. The most crucial reasons for estate planning include the following:
- Selecting beneficiaries to pass on their legacy
- Making the essential end-of-life healthcare decisions
- Arranging guardianship for minor children
- Making plans for the care of pets
- Choosing an executor to carry out the estate planner's final wishes
- Planning for the future of financial and other investments accounts
- Preparing for the future of privately owned businesses
- Protecting assets and avoid high taxes
- Creating special needs trusts for those with loved ones with special needs
- Arranging for charitable gifts to give back
If there is anything that is for sure, it is that life is uncertain. While thinking of death or incapacitation is unpleasant, both are unavoidably facts of life. A sound estate plan allows millennials to ensure the executor they choose carries out their final wishes, protects their loved ones from disputes and litigation, and leaves behind a lasting legacy.
Call a Seasoned Estate Planning Attorney To Schedule a Consultation Today
While there is a common misconception that estate planning is for the aging wealthy, the truth is that estate planning offers many benefits for all adults and is certainly not just for the rich. Having a current estate plan allows you to set your affairs in order, protect your loved ones, and leave behind a legacy of your own choosing. Not only does estate planning help you make plans to protect your loved ones and distribute your assets after you die, but it also allows you to make decisions about your own future. Meet with a lawyer at Roulet Law Firm, P.A., by calling our Minnesota office at 763-420-5087 or our Florida office at 941-909-4644 if you have questions or need help with estate planning.
And, if you would like to learn how to make it as easy and inexpensive as possible for your family to manage your affairs during incapacity and after passing, while ensuring your assets only go to whom you want and how you want, click here to register for our FREE online masterclass.
And, if you would like to learn how to protect your home and life savings from long-term care and nursing home costs, click here to download our FREE guide Save our Home: How to Protect Your Home and Life Savings From Long-Term Care and Nursing Home Costs.
