Don’t wait to estate plan

Don’t wait to estate plan

A lot of people think estate planning is something you can deal with later. Once life calms down. Maybe after retirement, buying a new home, or once the kids are older. But honestly? That kind of thinking can be a huge mistake.

As CJ Eagar, our Chief Legal Officer, explains, you don’t get to choose when life throws a curveball. A stroke. A bad car accident. An unexpected illness. These things happen fast, and once someone loses capacity, they can’t legally sign powers of attorney or healthcare directives anymore. You can’t go back and “fix it” afterward.

During the pandemic, law firms across the country were overwhelmed. People showed up in panic mode, trying to rush through legal documents after tragedy had already hit. But for some families, it was too late. Without the right paperwork in place, they were left without the authority to make crucial decisions. At the moment when it mattered most.

What are the risks of waiting to estate plan?

Estate planning gets treated as a “later” task. Something for retirement or old age. But that mindset isn’t just flawed, it’s dangerous. Emergencies don’t wait, and incapacity can happen when least expected.

Once someone becomes legally incapacitated, it's too late to sign powers of attorney or healthcare directives. The people who know them best may no longer have the legal authority to make decisions on their behalf. That authority shifts to a court that doesn’t know them or what they may want.

Advisors should remind clients that small estates are vulnerable too. Probate fees can eat up 3–7% of an estate’s value, and modest assets often get tied up in court without clear direction.

And without documents in place, even well-meaning families can find themselves at odds over money, medical care, or guardianship. What may start as a family disagreement can cross into legal territory fast with disputes or even litigation.

What does delaying estate planning actually cost?

Delaying estate planning doesn’t just risk emotional turmoil. It costs:

Money

Without a plan, families often face unnecessary costs. Probate alone can eat up 3-7% of an estate’s total value, before factoring in legal fees, taxes, and costs that proper planning could have prevented. The longer someone waits, the more potential savings quietly slip away.

Time

When there’s no clear documentation, even simple estates can take months or years to settle. Families may need to wait for court approvals just to access bank accounts or make medical decisions. In an emergency, that time and energy should go toward caring for the people you love, not scrambling to sort out care decisions or financial obligations.

Options

Estate planning is about making decisions while you still can. Strategies like irrevocable trusts, gifting, and asset protection are only available while a person has full legal capacity. The bigger picture is this: a solid estate plan means that when an accident or illness happens, everyone already knows what to do, who is in charge, and how they can help. Without a plan in place, the people you love the most are left trying to guess what you wanted to happen in the middle of the crisis.

Control

Estate planning is one of the few times in life where you get to decide, in advance, exactly what happens to you, your assets, and the people you care about. It’s a way to continue caring for them even when you can’t be there in the way you’d want to be. Without legal documentation, those decisions don’t disappear. They just get made by someone else, who doesn’t know you or your situation. A court determines guardianship, healthcare, and financial management based on legal process, not on who you are or what you value.

Common myths holding clients back

You’ve probably heard these before:

“I don’t have enough to plan.”

‍Most people who say this are thinking of assets the wrong way. An asset isn’t just an investment portfolio or a real estate holding. It’s your car. Your home. Your furniture, your art, your jewelry, your cryptocurrency. It’s everything you’ve worked for and everything you’d want someone to take care of. Many people assume they can simply pass these along as gifts or through informal conversations. But without legal documentation, those wants don’t exist on paper. If an asset is not clearly assigned, it’s up for dispute. If you own anything of value, you have something worth protecting. Without it, assets can get frozen, contested, or distributed based on outdated state laws, not based on what you wanted to happen.

“I’m too young.”

‍You’ve heard the stories. A freak accident. An unexpected cancer diagnosis. A stroke out of nowhere. But there’s a part of all of us that believes those things only happen to other people, not to the people we love or us. Until they do. Then, when they do, age doesn’t matter. Estate planning for young adults is just as important as it is for someone approaching retirement. A 22-year-old without a healthcare directive or financial power of attorney has no more legal protection than someone in their 80s without one. The people who love them are left with no legal authority, no clear direction, and no way to step in and help the way they want to. Planning isn’t about age. It’s about preparing the people you love to act on your behalf when you can’t.

“It's too expensive.”

‍This comes from real concerns. The cost of estate planning feels intimidating and costly, and when life is already busy, it seems easier to wait. But reality is that you’re going to pay the price one way or another. A basic estate plan covering a will, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives costs a fraction of what probate, court intervention, or family conflict down the road would. The time you thought you were saving by waiting gets multiplied in court, sometimes by months or even years. The difference is that planning now means you’re in control of that cost and process. Waiting means your family inherits the debt and spends that time trying to access what you always intended them to have. An estate plan does that for you and your family, before it ever becomes their burden.

How financial advisors can prepare clients for estate planning

You don’t have to be an attorney to make a difference in your client’s estate planning process. But as their financial advisor, you are often the most trusted voice in the room when it comes to their financial life. Clients who come to their estate planning consultation prepared, with a clear picture of their assets, ideas about who they’d trust as decision makers, and key documents in hand, get significantly more out of that meeting. As their financial advisor, you’re uniquely positioned to help them get to their estate planning consultation prepared. Here’s where to start:

Take inventory

Most clients don’t have a complete picture of what they own until someone prompts questions. Start there. Walk through everything together, physical assets, bank accounts, retirement plans, 401Ks, insurance policies, and digital property like cryptocurrency or online accounts. Knowing what’s there is the foundation on which everything else is built.

Name trusted decision-makers‍

‍This is a very personal and serious conversation your client will have. You can help them think through not just who they trust, but who is genuinely positioned to carry out what your client wants to happen. For healthcare, finances, and guardianship of children, the right person may look different in every situation. An advisor can help them think through those considerations before they’re sitting across from an attorney.

Get core documents in place

A will, power of attorney, and healthcare directive are the foundation of any estate plan. Clients start by writing down their key assets so they’re prepared to talk through the next steps with their attorney. Coming in with that information already organized makes the drafting and preparation process smoother and more productive for everyone involved.

Review plans periodically

An estate plan isn’t a one-and-done document. Life moves, and the client’s estate plan should move with it. Marriage, divorce, a new baby, a new job, these are all moments worth pausing to make sure everything still reflects what your client wants to happen. A good rule of thumb is to review every 3-5 years, or after a major life change.

Final takeaway

Estate planning doesn’t have to be perfect. But it should be happening. As a financial advisor, you’re often the person who can start the conversation, and that conversation can change everything for a family.

The families who have a plan in place don’t have to scramble when a crisis hits. They don’t have to guess what their loved ones wanted. They don’t have to fight over what was always meant to be theirs. They already know what to do, who is in charge, and how they can help accomplish what the person wanted.

That’s what estate planning is. It’s not paperwork. It’s not a legal formality. It’s a way to continue caring for the people you love, even when you can’t be there in the way you’d want to be. Encouraging your clients to take that step. The greatest gift they can give the people they love is the clarity of knowing exactly what to do when it could be the most confusing time.

Want to keep the conversation going?

If this topic hits close to home or you’re looking for more ways to guide hesitant clients, CJ’s video series goes deeper into real-world strategies:

• When Is the right time to estate plan?
  A practical look at why earlier is better and how planning can adapt over time.
  
• What to expect when you meet with an attorney
  A breakdown of what actually happens in that first meeting and how the process works.
  
• Estate planning key terms you should know
  Clear, no-jargon explanations of fiduciaries, executors, trustees, and other common client confusions.

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Our platform is attorney-led, which means we bring the attorney to you. Keep in mind: We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice–that’s what our in-network attorneys are for. While we work to make sure our information services are accurate, they’re meant as resources. Our materials and services don’t substitute for the advice of an attorney.