30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances

Part XI. Cover Your Bases on Estate Planning

There are those occasional moments in life when you think to yourself, "I guess I'm not a kid anymore." Like being called ma'am (or sir) for the first time. Concurring with your spouse that maybe a minivan is the best choice for your new vehicle. Saying, "Turn that noise down!" (or at least thinking it).

Creating an estate plan is yet another one of those times when you know that you're a grown-up. By taking steps to ensure that your wishes are carried out when your property is disposed of after you've died or become disabled, you're essentially admitting you won't be 25 forever, even if you still feel like you are.

Because pondering your own mortality is psychologically difficult, many people put off creating an estate plan. Others fail to do it because they assume that "estates" are only for the rich; when they hear "estate plan," they think of elaborate tax dodges designed for multimillionaires. Still others defer estate planning because they don't have children, or because they assume that the existing laws will take care of them just fine.

It's true that having a child or a lot of assets should prompt you to run, not walk, to your estate planning attorney's office. Ditto if you're divorced and have remarried. But creating an estate plan isn't just for the super-rich, those with heirs, or those with complicated family situations. And you most certainly don't want to wait until you're very old or in ill health to create one.

An estate ...