Time and time again, I’ve heard single people say “I don’t have a large family or much property,  I don’t need an estate plan.”  I have to be honest, prior to the birth of my son, I thought the exact same way.  Admittedly, it took me a year after my son’s birth to complete my estate plan.  Upon completion, I packaged it up nicely and told my close relatives of its contents and explained where exactly to locate my most important documents.  Then, I breathed a sigh of relief.  Why in the world did it take me so long?

Top Reasons Not to Have an Estate Plan

Well, for all of you naysayers, relax. You wont need an estate plan if:

1. You have no problem being buried next to your father and grandmother.  After all, your mom HAD to use that extra plot she purchased.

2. You have children and you’d rather the Surrogate’s Court decide how to distribute your assets amongst them and who will ultimately be responsible for rearing them.  Your irresponsible brother seems to be a perfectly appropriate guardian.

3. You love the thought of your irresponsible brother, your closest relative, in proximity, making life-changing decisions for you, such as whether the doctor should end life support or keep you on a feeding tube, should you find yourself in a comatose state.

4. That place that you worked so hard to buy.. Yeah, you’d like the Surrogate Court to decide what to do with it;  place it for sale or better yet, let your irresponsible brother move in.

5. You won’t mind that your new cherry red Mercedes Benz (or 1999 Honda Civic) will be sold, in the event of your untimely death, and the proceeds will be distributed to your creditors.

Conclusion

So, if you happen to be fine or even excited about the scenarios mentioned above, by all means, DO NOTHING.  However, if you’re mortified at the thought of having a zero percent say in an unfortunate future, please feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to develop an estate plan for you.

Religious Affiliation- I mean I don’t go to Church often, but I certainly watch Joel Osteen every Sunday and then I turn up the Tunes and listen to a little Gospel on my way to the grocery store. Everyone experiences spirituality differently. But, if something were to happen to me, I would want Baby J to be raised by someone with the same or similar religious affiliation as me.

Family Make-Up:

Does your guardian have children, a significant other or pets? Although, I would be fine with a family who had a mom and dad because after all, my baby has a very close relationship with both parents, my child is allergic to everything, but air. Stress aggravates his allergies. I wouldn’t want him to be faced with complete culture shock by tossing him into a family that has A LOT going on versus our mostly-quiet home. Pets would probably drive him crazy. He would probably attempt to smack the dog or cat and he’d sneeze constantly. No guardian with pets for sure for me.

Career Choice:

If J could completely formulate thoughts and ideas, he’d probably prefer to live with someone who didn’t have a 5 year plan to change the world, such as myself. I’m always busy and sometimes, my little guy gets a little shorted on time because of it. But, don’t cry for him because I make up for it, by being over the top with him, every single chance I get.

I’d love for J to be raised by someone who could strike a real balance in life, between their personal and professional lives. His guardian wouldn’t be able to have a career where they travel often and if they had to travel at times, I would expect for J to go along.

J’s guardian would have to have flexibility at work because unfortunately, he gets sick often and requires a lot of doctor’s appointments, not to mention the fact that, not unlike his mother, he’s over the top at times and requires lots of personal attention. J can’t live with a workaholic.

There are lots of other considerations to contemplate when choosing a guardian. This blog post just scratches the surface. I plan to revisit this important topic in the future. Please feel free to add a comment and tell me about the other things you’ve considered when appointing legal guardians for your children.