Many people living in North Carolina cite similar reasons for why they have yet to create estate plans. Some feel as if they do not have enough assets to their name to warrant creating one. Others believe doing so is unnecessary because they do not, and do not plan to, have kids to inherit their assets. However, everyone benefits from having an estate plan in place, regardless of whether they ever plan to have children.
According to Kiplinger, someone has to take ownership of your assets after your death, and in the absence of you putting an estate plan together, the state gets to decide where they go. Creating an estate plan gives you an opportunity to do the following.
Name loved ones or nonprofits as beneficiaries
If you have no children, you may want another family member or friend to take ownership of some or all of your assets once you die. However, unless you draft a valid will, there is no way for anyone to know this. A will lets you say who gets what when you die, whether you want a close friend, niece or nephew, charitable organization or someone else entirely to take ownership of your belongings.
Make a plan for a pet
You may also want to put an estate plan together to outline what you want to happen for your dog or another type of beloved pet. If you have someone in mind to look after your pet, were you to die, you may want to not only name that individual in your will but leave funds behind to him or her to go toward your pet’s care.
These are a few of many good reasons to create an estate plan, even if you have no children and no plans to have any.