Aging Las Vegas residents are well-advised to prepare their estate plans as soon as possible. If you have parents in the state, here’s what you should know about the benefits of an estate plan and why, if they don’t have one yet, you should have a talk with them about developing one.
Why you shouldn’t put off making an estate plan
Once your parents reach the age of 60 or so, it makes a lot of sense to talk to them about estate planning. Putting off the conversation can lead to unnecessary stress and awkwardness down the line. If one or both of your parents were to pass on without an estate plan, this could create difficulties in terms of adding stress in the immediate aftermath of their death while you should be dealing with the emotional toll as well as in terms of the financial cost.
Estate planning benefits
Estate planning ensures an orderly transfer of assets to pre-determined beneficiaries when your parents pass on. It prevents conflicts among surviving family members and allows for a grieving period free of additional stressors.
When the distribution of the estate assets is taken care of beforehand, the administration process is relatively straightforward and simple. On the other hand, not having an estate plan could leave surviving family members tied up in court, potentially for years, while dealing with massive attorney’s fees. Estate planning should go hand-in-hand with retirement planning, which involves how your parents will finance their lifestyles when they no longer work.
If your parents are over 60 and haven’t developed an estate plan, it’s time to discuss the critical importance of developing such a plan with them. Don’t put off the discussion until the future because you never know what tomorrow holds.