Estate Planning is Important even if you are Single

When you are single you are less likely to think of estate planning than you would if you had a large family, especially small children. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, we all get old and we all need to be properly prepared. The only way to do so is to participate in estate planning, married or not. This means if you are hitting close to that mid-life crisis, it might be time to start setting up that estate just so that you are prepared. You’d rather be safe than sorry, right?

Who will Care for You?

The first step is figuring out who will take care of you. It might seem like a long way off, but you have no way of predicting if and when you will become incapacitated. If you leave the decision to be made down the road, you run the risk of a judge being in charge of your fate, which is something you probably want to avoid. So starting now, think of who you would trust with your care if you were unable to do it yourself.

Carrying out your Wishes

In addition to who will care for you, is the need to determine who will carry out your wishes. This is called the Executor of the Will. But you may also need a Power of Attorney should you become unable to make your own decisions. This is just as big of a decision as who will care for you, so give it some careful thought. A family member or friend that you trust immensely could be a good choice, but if you don’t have anyone you can trust or want to trust, for that matter, you can hire a professional or a team of professionals to handle it for you. The key is making that decision now, while you are lucid and not waiting until it is too late and a judge decides your fate.

If you are single, making these decisions early on in life is important. Family members may step in and start fighting over the right to care for your health or your finances and friends are not legally bound to be able to do anything for you. If you want to protect your own rights should you be unable to handle these decisions yourself, make them now and make them official with a qualified attorney so you can take that worry off your back.