New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
Estate planning changes between groups of people. The necessary estate planning strategies also change between people. Like it or not, it is time for many members of the millennial generation to begin the estate planning process.
As a result, this article examines some of the unique challenges faced by this age group as well as takes a review of some estate planning strategies that Millenials should follow.
Powers of Attorney and Living Wills Are Helpful
No matter how old a person is, a durable power of attorney and a living will are vital estate planning documents. Durable powers of attorney allow an individual to appoint an agent to act on their behalf in the case individual becomes incapacitated and is no longer able to make medical or financial decisions.
Living wills allow a person to stipulate what types of life-prolonging measures they would like taken in case the person ends up on life support. After an individual turns 18 and becomes a legal adult, their parents will no longer be able to decide these matters. If a person fails to create these documents, their loved ones will be left with making the difficult decision of what types of care their loved ones would like to receive.
The Role of Living Wills and Trusts
The type and degree of testamentary documents that a person needs depend on that person’s assets, the type of assets involved, and the person’s goals.
In some cases, a person might be able to simply retitle assets to transfer ownership, which can eliminate the need for additional testamentary documents. For many millennials, however, it remains a wise idea to use testamentary documents.
One other unique consideration with assets owned by Millenials is that most millennials grew up using digital technology and consequently leave behind many digital assets.
If digital assets are involved in an estate, it is critical to leave behind a list of usernames and passwords when a person’s assets are transferred. For social media profiles, it is also important to utilize their estate planning tools like Facebook’s Legacy Contact or Google’s Inactive Account Manager.
Millennials with Children
In addition to other concerns, Millenials with minor children should make sure to appoint a guardian for their children in case the parent either unexpectedly passes away or becomes incapacitated.
The process of selecting a guardian should not be made lightly. Instead, you should make to carefully consider which adult you appoint. For Millenials without children, concerns are often much less regarding how inheritances are transferred.
If this issue is important to Millenials without children, it is often because they want to make sure that assets are transferred to other loved ones in their family or to organizations that the millennial is compassionate about.
Speak with an Experienced Estate Planning Lawyer
While millennials think that estate planning is not necessary until they become older, there is no time like the present to create a strategy for how assets will be left behind.
Contact Ettinger Estate Planning today to schedule a free initial consultation.