We tend to draw dividing lines in our culture regarding the things that are relevant during particular segments of our lives. Sometimes this makes sense and sometimes it doesn't, but when it comes to estate planning this propensity can lead to some very risky business. To put it bluntly, passing away is something that is generally attached to advanced age, but the fact is that people don't always die due to natural causes when they're in their late 70s, 80s or 90s.
When you are engaged in the active stages of your professional career you may well feel healthy and full of life, and this is fantastic but it can lead to procrastination when it comes to planning your estate. Successful people who make a practice of covering all their bases don't just mindlessly ignore the need to plan for the future. They just put it off for any number of reasons.
One of these is the fact that things are always changing in your life and ironically these changes can at first make you think about taking action with regard to your estate. These events are things like the marriages of your children and the birth of grandchildren. Your first thought may be to stop procrastinating and create an estate plan, but on second thought you may then anticipate future changes just over the horizon and decide to wait until things "settle down" before you make an appointment with an estate planning attorney.
Regardless of your age or your reasoning, the fact is that when you go through life without an estate plan you are putting your family at risk. Conduct a thought experiment and consider the situation that your family would be in if you were to pass away in a car accident on the way home from work. Simply put, if you're not comfortable with that picture, make an appointment with an experienced estate planning lawyer sooner rather than later.
