Mythbuster: I have no assets, I don't need an estate plan.

It's no secret (at least I don't think it is) that I am a young(ish) attorney.  Most of my former classmates, friends and acquaintances are also on the younger side and many of us, myself included, do not own our own homes yet, are not married and do not have children.  So when I shout from the mountain tops about the necessity of having an estate plan, I get a LOT of "I don't need one, I don't  have any assets" responses.

WRONG!

First, while you may not *think* you have assets, you actually do. If you have a bank account, a car, a computer, clothing, a cat, dog, hamster, orangatuan, you have assets. These things need to be taken care of by someone if you pass and it'd be nice if you just chose that "someone" and told that person what to do with your stuff.  Otherwise,  your family, who is devastated by your tragic death, is stuck playing a guessing game and also having to file in the Probate Court to get your piddly little pile of stuff out of your apartment (you said you had *no* assets right?).

Second, even if you didn't have ANY assets (which I think we just established that you probably do), you might not die, you might just become incapacitated.  And if you are over 18 and have no health care proxy or durable power of attorney (the two documents that work together to handle your health and make sure you bills get paid while you're laid up), no one has the clear right to make ANY medical decisions on your behalf or keep your financial life afloat while you are out of commission.

Example: A client's brother fell off a ladder and had severe head trauma that rendered him mentally incompetent for about 3 months. He had no estate plan. His sister had to spend thousands of dollars to get an emergency guardianship just so he had an apartment to go home to when the time came and he didn't end up in bankruptcy from his bills going 3 months overdue.

Bottom Line:  An estate plan is not just a will. It's a PLAN for all types of adverse events that could occur: death (the obvious one), physical incapacity, mental incapacity, temporary or permanent.  It's a PLAN that makes your life easier if anything bad happens and, almost as importantly, makes your family and friend's life easier if anything should happen to you. Because in times of tragedy, wouldn't it be nice if your loved ones could be by your bedside and not in a courtroom?

If you want to talk to an attorney about how to get started with your estate plan, feel free to contact me at Jackson & Torrone, P.C., kbneubauer@jackson-torrone.com, (413) 532-1200.  Even if you're not in the western Massachusetts area, I can refer you to some great estate planning attorneys in several different areas all over the Northeast.