Each year the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, or the NAEPC, sponsors “National Estate Planning Awareness Week” in an effort to bring public awareness to the need for comprehensive estate planning. This year, the week of October 20-26 is designated as National Estate Planning Awareness Week. If you have yet to create your estate plan this is an excellent opportunity to get started. If you already have an estate plan in place it might be time to review and update your plan if needed.
According to the NAEPC, an estimated 120 million Americans do not have an up to date, functional estate plan. When asked why they have yet to create an estate plan people provide a wide variety of explanations with two of the most common ones being the belief that they do not need a plan and concerns about the time and money it takes to create one. During National Estate Planning Awareness Week the 30,000 members of the NAEPC hope to educate people about why everyone needs an estate plan as well as explain why not having an estate plan in place often costs more in the long run than creating one in the first place.
Estate planning can, and should, accomplish much more than simply deciding who will receive your estate assets when you die. A well thought out estate plan can also do things such as protect you and your assets in the event you become incapacitated, it can preserve your assets for future generations, and shelter your assets from the reach of creditors or spendthrift beneficiaries. In short, your estate plan can protect you, your assets, and your loved ones from a wide variety of potential scenarios.
To help spread the word about the need for comprehensive estate planning during National Estate Planning Awareness Week, members of the NAEPC will be participating in events such as forums, workshops, and working one on one with existing clients to ensure that as many people as possible have a comprehensive estate plan in place.
Whether you are creating an estate plan for the first time or you have a plan that needs to be updated, National Estate Planning Awareness Week is the perfect time to do it. Contact your Missouri estate planning attorney to set up an appointment.
To learn more, please download our free estate planning in Missouri report here.
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