Nevada residents may find it discomforting to plan for what happens after they die. According to a survey done by Caring.com, only 46 percent of American adults have some sort of estate plan in place, and only 36 percent of American adults with children under the age of 18 having some sort of end-of-life plan. However, having such a plan can prevent both financial and emotional stress for children or other survivors.
Of those who responded to the survey saying that they didn’t have estate documents, 47 percent said that they hadn’t gotten around to it. To those who study the issue, this is partly because of fear and partly because of procrastination. While most people understand that they won’t live forever, many believe that they will live into their 80s or 90s. Therefore, they assume that there is plenty of time to create a plan in the future.
In fact, 81 percent of those aged 72 or older have a will or a living trust. Conversely, only 22 percent of those between the age of 18 and 36 have a will. Furthermore, roughly half of those between the ages of 53 and 71 say that they have a will. This may be because the younger generation doesn’t think anything bad will happen while baby boomers may not be ready to confront their mortality.
Proper will planning may make it easier for individuals to better control where their assets go after death. To ensure a will is valid, it may need to be typed, signed by multiple witnesses and free from edits or changes made by pen or pencil. It should also be reviewed by an attorney.