When to Start Estate Planning

When Should You Start Estate Planning?

Start estate planning as soon as you turn 18, and update it at every major life event: marriage, children, buying a home and retiring. The deadline that matters most isn't your age. It's your health, because you must have the mental capacity to sign your documents.

Most people put it off because it feels like something for later. The problem is that later usually arrives as a phone call from a hospital, and by then the options are narrower. Read the strategic cost of waiting.

The Ages and Events That Should Trigger a Plan

At 18

At 18, you're a legal adult in Michigan. Your parents can no longer make medical or financial decisions for you, or even get your medical information, without your written permission. A durable power of attorney, a patient advocate designation and a HIPAA authorization fix that. See why college students need a medical power of attorney.

When you marry or have children

Without a plan, Michigan law decides who inherits, and the probate court decides who raises your children. A will lets you name a guardian, and a living trust controls when and how children receive money. Read estate planning for young parents.

When you buy a home

A house is usually the asset that sends a family to probate. A living trust or a Lady Bird deed can pass it to your family without court.

In your 50s and approaching retirement

Your assets are at their largest, and retirement accounts, a business or a second property make the plan more complex. It's also the time to think about long-term care. See why retirement should trigger an estate plan review.

After a diagnosis, or when a parent starts to decline

This is the most urgent trigger. A diagnosis such as early dementia doesn't automatically mean someone can't sign, but the window can close quickly. If a parent can no longer understand and sign their documents, the family may have to ask the probate court for a guardianship or conservatorship, which is slower, more expensive and public.

Planning for Nursing Home Costs Has Its Own Clock

If you want to protect your home and savings from nursing home costs, timing matters more. Medicaid looks back five years at gifts and transfers before someone applies. Planning that starts at least five years ahead gives you the most options. Read about long-term care planning.

If care is closer than five years, or already needed, there are still options. Talk to an attorney before moving any assets, because a gift made at the wrong time can delay Medicaid eligibility.

Is It Ever Too Late?

It's too late once you can no longer understand and sign your documents. Until then, it isn't. When a parent was in crisis, Rutkowski Law Firm has turned around emergency powers of attorney by the next day, with a notary sent to the hospital.

Already Have a Plan?

Starting is half of it. A plan written before a marriage, a divorce, a move or a grandchild may no longer do what you want. See the life events that should trigger an update and which documents to review every year.

What It Costs to Start

Every plan is one flat fee, quoted at your Vision Consultation before you decide anything. See what an estate plan costs in Michigan.

Next Step

Schedule a Vision Consultation or call 248-792-9193. If you're helping a parent, you can join the meeting by video from wherever you live.