Professional success or starting a family are common reasons that people create estate plans. People who have six-figure incomes, spouses or minor children often want to ensure the right people inherit their resources or to protect their dependent family members.
It is beneficial for those with children, spouses and valuable property to create estate plans. However, people don’t need to fully establish themselves to create an estate plan. Young professionals and even college students often require basic estate plans for their own protection.
Unmarried adults have limited support
Typically, people rely on the support provided by their spouses or parents in emergency situations. However, young professionals and college students likely do not yet have spouses. They are also old enough that their parents cannot offer them practical support.
Once they turn 18, their parents generally do not have access to their financial resources or their medical records. They cannot pay bills on behalf of an incapacitated adult child or make medical decisions for them.
Powers of attorney are typically necessary for unmarried adults to protect against damaging emergency scenarios. Their documents can empower someone they trust to act on their behalf if they end up incapacitated due to a car crash or a sudden health issue.
Young professionals may also want to establish wills, especially if they have intended beneficiaries other than their parents. Otherwise, intestate succession laws grant their closest family members inheritance rights.
Sitting down with an estate planning attorney early in adulthood can be a beneficial choice. Even those who do not have dependents may benefit from drafting basic estate planning documents.
