Legal Matters
Brought to you by: Community Partner Bradford & Holliman
More than ever, gift giving is fraught with peril this year. Consider the overseas shipping and delivery problems to stores near you, the increasing cost of shipping gifts to your loved ones, the predicted difficulties of timing when your gifts arrive, the possibility of your gift being the wrong size, color, style, or even a duplicate. Avoid all these issues and send a gift that is perfectly customized to your loved ones’ needs – funds for a full estate plan. Your own estate planning attorney can help locate an experienced estate planning attorney in your loved one’s hometown if needed.
A quick online search will tell you: “A staggering 79 percent of millennials (ages 18-34) do not have a will. Even more surprising is that 62 percent of those in the 35 to 44-year-old age group don’t have a will or living trust, and 60 percent of those in the 45 to 54-year-old age group don’t have one either.” Now, it’s not that millennials don’t think wills are necessary. They just assume they can get around to it when they hit their fifties. Single millennials often assume that their families can just take care of matters using the state’s intestate laws… without researching what those laws are. Mistake! And that’s not even mentioning the critical need for financial and healthcare powers of attorney, healthcare directives, a plan for personal belongings, and guardians for their minor children.
If you are lucky enough to be with your loved ones in person during the holidays, use this strategic gift to discuss your own estate plan and the reasons behind it so that no unpleasant surprises create family problems after you’re gone. Perhaps combined with the joy of the season, this longer-term expression of affection will mean even more to your loved ones. And if changes in family members have occurred recently due to births, deaths, or divorces, give yourself the same strategic gift by updating your own estate plan.
-Melanie B. Holliman, JD
Partner at Bradford & Holliman
Estate Planning, Trusts & Special Needs
205-663-0281
No representation is made that the quality of the legal service to be performed is greater than the quality of service performed by other lawyers.
