Don't Neglect Estate Planning. Here's why. Ep. 96

I enjoy a well thought out plan of execution, and I’m lucky because Mallory, my wife, does as well. The pain with this mentality is that we tend to analyze things and come up with a game plan, then re-examine all the possible scenarios. At any rate, we tend to go into things wide-eyed. 

I haven’t always been this meticulous. In my teens and twenties, I enjoyed saying “yes” to new opportunities. It was easy to be spontaneous when you had limited bills and felt invisible. Why not jump off that cliff into the lake or ride that motorcycle, right?

In my twenties, I lived in Colorado for a couple of years, and my buddy, Chris, was out for the summer visiting. We had done a lot of hiking and camping together in Virginia, where I went to college, and naturally did a fair amount of hiking that summer in Colorado. One of the crown jewels of outdoor activities in Colorado is hiking to the top of 14,000 foot mountains. There are 54 mountain peaks in Colorado that are 14,000 feet or taller. I think I conquered five or six of them. More continued in show...

One area that I see where people could use a little extra planning is estate planning, so that they are not caught on the proverbial mountain with no water. Nobody wants to plan their demise, but having proper legal documents in place in the event that you are incapacitated or you pass away is important. I am not an attorney, but we have strategic partners that we refer our clients to assist with estate planning.

A will that goes over how your assets should be distributed is a key to ensuring that your wishes happen after you pass away. Having a healthcare and financial power of attorney is helpful if you are in the unfortunate situation of being incapacitated while you are still alive. I have sat in the hospital with a family member that did not have a healthcare power of attorney when a social worker came to visit. At that point, the pressure was put on me and other family members to decide how that person may want their end-of-life decisions made. I do not, personally, want anyone else to have to make those decisions for me. That is why we have elected to have estate planning documents drafted. We do not want to neglect this important detail.

I know this subject may be a little morbid but it is one topic that I have often seen placed on the back burner. If you have questions about estate planning or would like to be connected with an attorney outside of our office to discuss your particular situation, please give us a call at 864.641.7955.

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