Everyone – Including You – Has an Estate

Contrary to popular belief, an estate isn’t just for the wealthy. You have an estate, too. That word simply refers to the total value of everything you own, minus your debts. So, yes, you have an estate.

When a client was once asked about the size of his estate, he replied, “I don’t have an estate. I just have a house and some savings.” He thought estates were the exclusive domain of the Kennedy and Rockefeller families. But the truth is that everyone has an estate – and everyone needs to plan for it.

Your estate includes everything you own: your home, your car, your savings and checking accounts, your retirement accounts and IRAs, any life insurance, investments and every personal possession of financial or sentimental value. When you die, all of it must go somewhere. Estate planning is simply how you decide where.

The goal of estate planning is to transfer your assets to the people or causes you care about, in the way you intend, with as little cost, delay and conflict as possible. Without a plan, your state government makes those decisions for you – and the results are rarely what you would have chosen. Estate planning does not require great wealth. It requires a willingness to be clear about your wishes while you are able to state them.