Procrastinating on your Estate Plan?

Procrastination is a challenge that everyone has faced at some point in their life. We have all struggled with delaying, avoiding, and procrastinating on issues that are important to us.

There are things in life that simply need to get done, but we often resist to actually do them. It’s not that we question the importance of these tasks, we just keep…putting them off. Everyone procrastinates at some point or another, even when the task is one that can’t be avoided, with negative consequences for failing to complete it, such as filing taxes or getting an oil change for your car. Another task that many people frequently avoid or put off, although they shouldn’t, is creating an estate plan.

Everybody understands the importance of an estate plan; why do so many people procrastinate? There are multiple reasons, but they tend to fall into a few main categories. The first reason is the lack of a deadline. Many people are driven by deadlines and, unlike income taxes, estate planning doesn’t have a set time or “due-date” for which it is to be completed. This makes it very easy for people to put off their estate plan, especially when there are multiple other things that need to get done by the next day. People with this mindset of continually pushing back their estate plan eventually run out of days before they ever sit down with a lawyer to secure their family’s future.

One other reason that many people procrastinate on creating their estate plan is that they simply don’t know what to do, and this leads to inaction. Do you need a will or a trust, or both? If a trust, what kind? And how do I choose the right lawyer to help? There are many questions to be asked and  answered and although it seems to be easier to figure it all out later, “later” often turns into “too late.”

Often times getting started is the hardest part. We want to help you with that. In the book, Atomic Habits, it lays out simple ways to start knocking out those big tasks. It suggests taking small chunks of the project at hand to eliminate the overwhelming feeling of not being able to get a long list of things done. Your first step in getting started with your estate plan or creating a will is simpling picking up the phone and giving us a call. We can help you get started with the little things you need to begin to tackle those easy-to-put-off tasks.

At Gary Crews Law in Tulsa, OK, we specialize in all aspects of estate and end-of-life planning.  Call  (918) 493-3360 today for your free consultation with one of our friendly, professional staff, We are here to help!