When should I begin planning my estate?

The problem with estate planning is that you never know when you are going to die.  I just came from a meeting with a client and they said well, next year we are going to do this and the next year we are going to this other.  And I said that is all well and good as long as you are alive.  The fact of the matter is you could have an accident today.  You probably aren’t going to have an accident today, but accidents happen all the time, that’s why you have life insurance, fire insurance, car insurance.  Because accidents can happen.  You need to make sure that you have quality estate plan in place at all times in case something happens and you die so that your family is not left in this lurch, and it will be a horrible lurch if you have no estate plan in place.  Money may not go to the people that you want, expense to lawyers will eat up a large part of your estate.  Your spouse and children may need all of the money you have, but with money going to lawyers, taxes and courts, there may end up not being enough left for your loved ones to live on if you don’t plan properly.  A qualified estate planning attorney can help you put a plan in place and work with you as your circumstances change throughout life to make sure that your estate plan is always current and up-to-date.  At Thomas Walters we offer a program called our Lifetime Lawyer program for just that purpose…