Any adult in Pennsylvania could benefit from creating an estate plan. If you have been on the fence about whether to create a plan of your own, moving forward with planning measures may be in your interest. Even if you do not have a considerable amount of money or own complex assets, having a plan can go beyond just addressing what you own.
Certainly, you can use your plan to indicate where or with whom you want your assets to end up, but you can also explain your wishes for medical care in the event that you suffer a serious illness or injury, appoint someone to care for your minor children should you be unable to, and put someone in charge of carrying your wishes out. The benefits do not stop there either.
Bringing relief to yourself and loved ones
It is also important to note that your plan will not just benefit you alone. Your family members could greatly benefit from having your instructions when handling such sensitive matters. Often, when a loved one is in a medically compromising position or has recently passed away, it can be hard for family members to know what to do. If you create formal documents that explain how you want a particular situation handled, your loved ones may feel a sense of relief.
Even if you have not yet reached certain common milestones in life, like having children, creating a plan now could still be useful. You can still rest assured, knowing that the assets you have accumulated thus far will go where and to whom you want, and you know that a trusted person will handle your medical needs if necessary. Plus, if you change your mind at any point or experience a life-changing event that needs addressing in your estate plan, you can update your plan at any time.
Estate planning can be challenging
Knowing exactly what you want at any given moment can be difficult enough, and trying to think about what you would want in hypothetical scenarios may seem unnecessarily difficult. Still, it is important that you give yourself the chance to consider these possibilities and determine how you would want a predicament handled if it were to happen tomorrow. As mentioned, you can also update your plan if you feel the need to, but having formal documents in place is a wise step to take.