We understand that preparing an estate plan is not always the most urgent priority for young families. Whether you’ve just purchased your first home or have been blessed with your first child, your main concern is most likely planning for your family’s future, paying your mortgage, and enjoying everyday life—not planning for possible tragedies. Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict when you will need the protection of an estate plan, and the reason planning is critical for young families is not because there is a significant risk of death or incapacity. It is because the consequences if those unlikely events occur can be particularly devastating for young families who have not protected themselves.
For young families who still have relatively modest estates, there is a need for thorough planning, but that planning can typically be standardized due to the common circumstances young families need to deal with. To address this need, we have developed two types of standardized plans which you may choose from. These plans not only provide the documents needed for your stage of life, but include the completion of necessary beneficiary designation forms.
Regardless of the provisions in a will or trust, assets with beneficiary designations are controlled by those designations, not the will or trust. Improperly coordinated beneficiary designations are one of the primary problems responsible for estate plans not accomplishing intended objectives, including the unintended distribution of assets to children at age 18.