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THE IMPORTANCE OF ESTATE PLANNING
People often ask me what I do for a living. I tell them that I am an estate planning attorney located in Marin County (San Rafael). Many Marin residents tell me that they never created their estate plans because it is something they will do when they get older. I am here to tell you that estate planning is not something that should be put on hold until you get older. Moreover, estate planning is not just for “old people.” In fact, everyone should create their own estate plan ASAP regardless of their age and economic status.
Estate planning is a vitally important process that protects you, your family and your assets from future events such as incapacity and death. Due to advances in medical treatment, people are living much longer. As a result, many more people suffer from some form of dementia and therefore rendered incompetent to handle their legal and personal affairs. A comprehensive estate plan protects a person and their assets both during their potential incapacity and death.
I always cringe when I hear the morning news about a person dying in a car accident on their way to work. I always wonder if that person somehow knew that it was going to be his or her last day here on earth. This person who died on their normal daily routine can be you [or me] tomorrow, next week or next year, etc. Simply put, all of us will die eventually but the date and location of our death remains uncertain.
Too many Californians do not have an estate plan in place to account for their incapacity or death. Not having an estate plan defies logic and is not prudent because it puts you, your family, and your assets in peril.
So what is estate planning? An estate plan created by an estate planning attorney in Marin involves both strategies and legal documents to protect you and your loved ones in the event you are no longer able to do so yourself. Most people think of a last will and testament as an estate plan. However, a comprehensive estate plan usually involves a revocable living trust, pour-over will, durable power of attorney and advance health care directive. See estate planning documents explained.
I hope by now that you can see the importance of estate planning to protect you and your family from your potential incapacity and eventual death.
Matthew W. Harris is a Marin County estate planning attorney located in San Rafael. For more information about estate planning or any other questions regarding estate planning, please contact The Law Office of Matthew W. Harris today for a free consultation at (415) 521-5610.
Note: Attorney advertising. Nothing posted on this blog by the Law Office of Matthew W. Harris, a Marin County estate planning attorney, is intended, nor should be construed, as legal advice. Blog postings and hosted comments are available for general educational purposes only and should not be used to assess a specific legal situation. Nor does any comment on a blog post create an attorney-client relationship. The presence of hyperlinks to other third-party websites does not imply that the Law Office of Matthew W. Harris, endorses those websites, their contents, or the activities or views of their owners.
