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Creating an estate plan can be easy to put off.  If there is no present, pressing reason to create one, it’s easy to postpone it to a later date.  This line of thinking is understandable.  You may think an estate plan is only necessary in narrow situations that are unlikely to happen anytime soon.  The problem is that once one of those urgent scenarios arises, it is too late to do anything about it.

There may be people who simply do not have the time to routinely visit a lawyer for a few weeks while their estate plan is being drafted.  In fact, who does have the time for that?  Luckily, technological improvements and new state laws have made estate planning easier than ever.  Through virtual consultations to a remote signing ceremony, you can complete this process with whatever free time you have, without ever needing to step foot in a lawyer’s office.

What Keeps You Busy?

The two most time-consuming aspects of an adult’s life are their job and their family.  Both of these aspects of one’s life can be immensely rewarding, but they also require a major time commitment.  It is, however, precisely because of jobs and children that you need an estate plan.  

As your family starts to rely on you more heavily to provide for them, emotionally and/or financially, it becomes even more important that you create a safety net to account for the what-ifs in life.  As for your job, you spend so much of your time working hard, making money, it is critically important to protect that money in the event of an emergency.

Why Is Estate Planning Important?

Estate planning, if done properly, should touch on the most important aspects of your life: health, family, and finances.  There are several documents that can go into an estate plan to help build this strong safety net.

A will or living trust can help care for your family by directing your assets properly upon passing.  Through either of these documents you designate who will inherit your assets, making sure that they are taken care of financially in the event that the worst happens.  

A durable power of attorney for finances can help care for your financial matters by enabling a trusted individual to manage them for you in the event you are temporarily unable to.  They can pay bills, collect payments, or tend to any other monetary issues you may need them to. And, you can make this person’s power as broad or narrow as you would like.

A durable power of attorney for health care will address your health by allowing you to name a trusted person to make medical decisions for you in the event that you are unable to.  A living will allows you to outline your own personal preferences for medical treatment ahead of time.  This document would then be referenced by family members and doctors in the event you are unable to dictate these wishes in the moment.  

When working in conjunction with one another, these documents can help with the most important aspects of your life – from caring for your family, to helping manage your finances, to getting you the medical treatment you need.  A quality estate plan is well worth the time.

What Happens if You Do Not Have an Estate Plan?

Failing to create an estate plan can have serious ramifications.  Without an estate plan in place, state law will dictate how your estate would get distributed.  Instead of you doling out your hard-earned assets to your beloved relatives, it would follow New York intestacy laws.  This may or may not align with your wishes as to how your property should be distributed, and of course there is the issue of not having any of the supporting documents we discussed above.

The durable powers of attorney and the living will, often combined and referred to as advance directives, are not only important once someone has passed. They can prove invaluable during one’s lifetime.  For example, if someone slips into a coma without these documents in place, the process of getting them the help they need may be significantly less efficient.  Failing to name one person in particular can lead to fighting among family members as they try to agree on the proper course of treatment for you.  Not to mention, failing to name a power of attorney for finances could lead to months of past-due bills for you to come home to.  By addressing this issue now, you can help to mitigate the consequences of temporary incapacity in the event it was to happen.

How Has the Estate Planning Process Changed?

Until recently, the estate planning process would have required you to take several hours out of several days to complete.  You would have had to drive out to a lawyer’s office and sit there as you have a conversation about your estate planning goals.  Once the documents were drafted, you likely would have had to drive back out to the office, pick up the papers, and then peruse them to ensure their accuracy.  Lastly, you would have had to make a final trek to sign all of the documents. Fortunately, those days are no more.

While there may still be some reasons to conduct an in-person signing ceremony, the decision will often fall onto the clients themselves.  As for the consultations and preliminary conversations, those can all be conducted remotely via a chosen video-conferencing platform.  Oftentimes, especially for New Yorkers, there will be the option to complete the whole process, start to finish, remotely.  If you live in the city, it is entirely possible that you do not have a car.  You likely work long hours.  Perhaps you return home every day to take care of a family. The times have changed, and with it has come the prevalence of a remote estate planning process.

How Is the Process Easier?

This estate planning process has become easier since you now need only a fraction of the time to complete what would have taken longer some years ago.  You can create a plan from home with whatever free time you have available.  It can be as easy as logging onto your computer from the comfort of home and taking thirty minutes or so on a few occasions to speak with our estate planning team.  

At Rosenblum Law, we are well equipped to guide you through this entire process remotely – from your initial consultation all the way through the signing.  We are prepared to help you achieve your estate planning goals with your convenience in mind.  We use technology to efficiently and accurately assist you in preparing the information your attorney needs to create your plan. Our remote consultation process is intuitive and seamless.  Our remote signing process is secure and valid.  Our expertise in this process can help you rest assured that you can create a comprehensive, high-quality estate plan, all without leaving the house.

How Can Rosenblum Law Help?

The truth is that estate planning is vitally important.  It offers numerous benefits for both during one’s life as well as afterwards.  We are now living in a time where this process has gotten significantly more convenient than it has been in the past.  At Rosenblum Law, we can help you book your appointments at times that are convenient for you.  You can meet with us virtually and ultimately complete this whole process remotely.  We are prepared to make this process as easy as it can be for you.  To learn more about our seamless estate planning process, contact us to schedule a free, no obligation consultation. Just give us a call at 888-235-9021.