People who do not have a large amount of assets, think that they do not really need an estate plan. They are wrong.
Not everyone is wealthy. Not everyone has billions, or even millions, of dollars that need to be divided up between their relatives after they pass away. In fact, most people do not have that kind of fortune and never will.
Many of the people who are not wealthy, think that means they do not need estate plans. They reason that if there is little to divide up, then there is little to fight over. Consequently, they believe everything will go smoothly.
Unfortunately, that is a myth.
Even people who do not have a large estate need an estate plan, as the Pauls Valley Daily Democrat explains in “More on estate planning myths.”
You never know when family members will decide to fight over an estate and exactly what they will fight over. While it is true that a large amount of money often leads to a fight, it does not always do so.
Sometimes the most bitter of estate battles are actually over little things. Some estates have even been known to easily settle large fortunes, but have long and bitter feuds over small personal items that are not worth very much.
This means families might choose to argue over estates that do not have anything of value, if there are sentimental items wanted by more than one family member.
It happens a lot more often than you think.
No matter how much money you have, you need to see an estate planning attorney and get an estate plan.
Reference: Pauls Valley Daily Democrat (March 1, 2017) “More on estate planning myths.”
