Top 4 Reasons People Don’t Get Their Estate Plan Done

By Lane V. Erickson, Idaho Estate Planning Attorney

Having been an estate planning attorney now for over 20 years I have heard all the many reasons that people don’t get their estate planning done. Our goal, as the premier Idaho estate planning Law Firm, is to help each of our clients get the customized estate plan that they need.

Our team of exceptional and talented estate planning attorneys includes partners Randy Budge and Lane Erickson and attorneys Nate Palmer and Dave Bagley. Each attorney on our team has earned the highest rankings and reviews possible from past clients and from several legal rating services including Justia, Martindale & Hubbell, and AVVO. Our team of attorneys have the expertise and knowledge to benefit each of our clients specifically and individually.

The purpose of this article is to encourage you to get your estate-planning done by talking about the four main reasons that people don’t. By talking about these reasons, we are confident that you will better understand the importance of an estate plan and can move forward with getting your estate-planning done as well.

The first main reason that people don’t get their estate planning. Is that they simply do not know where to start. We totally understand this. We do not expect you to have the same knowledge and understanding about estate planning that we do. Our goal is to use our expertise and knowledge to help you with the easy process of getting your estate planning done.

The best way to start is by downloading our free Estate Planning Questionnaire. We created this as a pdf document that you can download to your own computer. You can then type your information directly into this document which allows you to gather the information together you need in order to make decisions about what you want to accomplish through your plan. In the alternative, you could easily print this document and fill it out by hand.

We then offer a free 30-minute consultation to review your Questionnaire with you so we can understand who your family members and loved ones are, and what you want to accomplish with your estate plan. We discuss all the options that are available to you so that you can better understand the different ways your estate plan can benefit your family members and loved ones.

Once you have your information together this leads to the next main reason that people do not get their estate planning done and that’s because they are afraid of what it’s going to cost. The good news is that this is really not an issue. I don’t mean to say that it doesn’t cost anything because we all know that estate planning work with the lawyer does cost something.

The good news is, that the way we work the process at Racine Olson, is to help you determine what options you are interested in, then we provide you with the flat fee costs for each of those options. We do this during the free 30-minute consultation so that you have all the information you need to think about it individually, and talk about it with your spouse and family before you are obligated to pay anything.

As mentioned above, most of the estate planning work we complete is done through a flat fee schedule. There are no hidden costs there are no add-ons there are no additions. The flat fee covers every meeting, every phone call, as well as the creation of the estate planning documents, getting them signed, witnessed and notarized, and then getting them organized into an estate planning binder that is given to you when we are done.

Now that we can show you how to start getting your estate-planning done and we have taken away the fear of what it will cost, the next main reason that people don’t get their estate planning done is that they simply don’t want to think about it. This is totally understandable.

The good news is that you don’t really have to think much about it at all. In other words, it is our job as the estate planning attorney, to look down the road of the future and think about all the possible bad things that can happen. Our job then is to create an estate plan for you that will protect you, your family and loved ones from these bad things.

The fact of the matter is that life is uncertain. However, you do not need to dwell on the uncertainties of life to be able to move forward with living life. By taking these concerns off your shoulders, we leave you with the ability to think about how you can help and support your family through your estate plan.

The final of the top four reasons for people not getting their estate plan done is that they simply do not understand why it is important. This is where our Estate Planning Questionnaire helps. It guides you step-by-step through the very things that you should be thinking about depending on the circumstances of your life.

For example, if you are a parent with small children, then you should be thinking about who you would want to appoint as the guardian of your children if something were to happen to you and your spouse. Additionally, you would want to think about how you can provide for your children financially while they are young as well as helping them get a good start when they enter their adult years.

Additionally, perhaps you have someone in your family who suffers from a handicap, disability, or addiction of some sort. You can use your estate-planning as a way of helping these particular people in the way that works best for then.

If you have been thinking about getting your estate-planning done but any of these four reasons have stopped you, then we encourage you to contact us for a free 30-minute consultation. We would be happy to review our Estate Planning Questionnaire with you and to help you make some decisions about moving forward with your own estate plan. We have helped numerous clients complete this process and we are confident that we can help you too.

Our team of Idaho lawyers can help you with any of your estate planning or probate needs. Whether you are seeking to create or review an estate plan for yourself or would like to help a loved one, we are available to discuss your options and answer your questions at an initial free 30-minute consultation. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a free consultation. You can also email us directly at lane@racineolson.com or stop by our office at 201 East Center Street, Pocatello, Idaho 83201. We will answer your questions and help you solve your Idaho estate planning problems.