Why Estate Planning is a Woman’s Issue

October is National Estate Planning Awareness Month.

I was just reading that over half of American adults do not have an up-to-date estate plan in place. Incidentally, as I write this, my husband and I are (finally) working with our attorney to create ours.

 

Knowing that everything is in place should something unforeseen happen to my husband gives me financial peace-of-mind. All the big decisions are already made and all I’ll have to do is execute.

 

But what about if both my husband and I pass prematurely? Well then, our son is taken care of because, again, all the big decisions have already been made. There’s tremendous peace of mind knowing that everything is taken care of in either situation.

 

Estate planning takes care of things such as planning for incapacity, electing guardians for young children and determining how you’d like your assets to pass on to your loved ones so that they are taken care of.

 

Why estate planning is especially important for women

 

While estate planning is important to BOTH men and women, it often has a greater impact on women.  Statistically, women live longer and tend to marry older spouses, which makes them three times more likely than men to be widowed at age sixty-five.

 

For women, estate planning is a crucial part of retirement planning.  Since they usually survive their spouses, women more often have the last word about how much wealth goes to family, charity, and Uncle Sam.
 

Since the execution of our estate plan will be the last opportunity to have our wishes carried out to provide for our loved ones, the key to building an estate plan which is meaningful and personal is to start with your big Money Why.

 

What is the real motivation for building wealth in your life?

 

To uncover your big Money Why, or your purpose for your money, you can start by answering this question:
 

What are three things you want to be certain you accomplish with your wealth in your lifetime? (I would love to hear your answers)

 

Happy National Estate Planning Awareness Month!