Many people living in North Dakota neglect to make estate plans until something major happens. For example, you may not think you need one until you marry, have children or otherwise experience a major life change. In truth, though, everyone experiences benefits from creating an estate plan, regardless of whether you have a spouse, kids or considerable assets.
Per Kiplinger, the following are some of the reasons it pays to draft an estate plan even if you do not have, and never plan to have, children.
You get to plan for incapacitation
Many people include advance health care directives in their estate plans that outline their wishes for their own medical care. There are different types of advance directives, but you may use them to say if you want resuscitation, if you wish to be an organ donor and so on. That way, your medical team and loved ones have something to reference if you become unable to tell them your wishes.
You get control over your legacy
You may not have kids, but that does not mean you do not have opinions about where your money should go or opinions about who should inherit your legacy. An estate plan lets you name a friend, sibling or other loved one as a beneficiary, or you may decide to leave some or all of your legacy to a favorite charity. If you have a beloved pet, you may also decide to make plans for his or her care somewhere in your estate plan.
An estate plan does more than just dictate where your assets go. It also gives you a chance to maintain a certain degree of control over your affairs once you are no longer around to make decisions.