I am an adjunct Professor at Cerritos College. I teach the Estate Planning for Paralegals course. It is a wonderful opportunity to share what I am passionate about with an audience eager to learn more about paralegal studies and the intricacies of estate planning. One of the first projects I assigned for grading was the “Project Blog.” For 100 points, students were asked to submit their thoughts on estate planning for sharing with internet readers.

Here is a compilation of some of their posts, all posted with their permissions and without any editing, of course:

From Brian:

Estate planning certainly hit home for me personally as well. My mother’s aunt and uncle are the perfect examples of what not to do. They both owned and operated their own business.  Then they soon became incapacitated at around the same time. My mother had to become conservator to them both. They never had any children.

Come to find out that they had not filed any tax returns in several years and the money was in multiple accounts under multiple names. Even several years after their death we were still finding accounts that were forgotten about. To further add to the complications  nothing was in joint accounts.  There were accounts either in his name or her name or the business name. The house and the business property was in his name only and the one car was in her name.

They were worth several million dollars but they lived a very frugal life.  As a result the house was in complete disrepair and completely dirty. So there was a great deal of work to be done over an above a regular probate.

Then my mother died a few years ago leaving my father with having to learn what accounts there are and he was responsible for paying the bills for the first time in his life. At least my parents had everything in joint accounts so probate was not needed at all.

My father finally got smart and has now set up a trust. Hopefully others will learn the same lesson.

From Daniel:

Should a young adult draft a will of his or her own? Most older people know, especially those that have consulted an Estate Planning Attorney, about the importance of having a Will. It saves money and time of the surviving family members by not having to go through the hassle and expenses of Probate Court. Of course, that depends on how much in assets the decedent leaves. However, how much real property or personal property does a young adult really have? Unless he or she has won the lottery, not enough to even consider having a will. To a young adult drafting a will might actually be too much of a hassle then. However, regardless of how much or how little personal property he or she actually has, a will should be drafted. That way, if anything were to occur, he or she can choose to whom his personal property should go to, instead of having State Law dictate how the property will be distributed.

From Kristen:

Too young for an estate plan?  The first time I was ever approached about an estate plan or will was when my doctor asked me if I had a healthcare directive. I didn’t know what it was and assumed he was talking about a birthing plan. So I launched into a passionate speech about my desire for an epidural and he laughed. He wanted to know if I had documentation designating someone as my power of attorney in the event I was unable to make decisions for myself. Of course I didn’t, I am too young for that kind of stuff. Here I am about to give birth and I have no plan, no back-up and no clue. It is not about money or personal property but choosing someone to take care of things if something where to happen. Why would I want someone else making the decisions for me when I could be proactive and eliminate the uncertainty created by not thinking ahead.

From Sonia:

Most people do not like to consider or even discuss the fact of their own mortality, but like it or not, sooner or later our time on earth will be over. Many people reason that they don’t have much money or real property, therefore their estate is not large enought to warrant a formal legal document such as an estate plan. Some will procrastinate and put off the inevitatable which could result in a lengthy probate process. Some may feel that the whole process is just too complex and they simply don’t want to deal with it. An estate plan will let the wishes of the deceased be known and allow for implementation of their wishes to be followed.

What needs to be understood is that there may be other important issues to consider. It could be the issue of  minor children that need a guardian or possibly a disabled older parent that will need to be provided for in a conservatorship or revocable living trust. The fact is that It would be better to have a plan (no matter how simple) in place. Time and unforseen occurrence can affect anyone. It would be wise to at least consult with a professional estate planner, to avoid chaos, in the event of an untimely accident.

Estate planning is not just for the well off, each individual needs to consider their own personal circumstances and give heartfelt thought to what would happen to their loved ones should they fail to have some type of estate plan in place. This is the considerate thing to do for the ones who are left behind.