Many seniors feel that they do not have enough saved for retirement to live comfortably in their senior years and thus certainly have no need for estate planning.  However, that is simply not the case.  If you own anything, you have an estate.  Estate planning is so much more than deciding who gets what after you die.  Estate planning includes instructions for your care and finances should you become incapacitated in your later years, it provides for continued care for your minor children or those whose care you provide, it is the vehicles by which you make your wishes.  You do not want the courts or some  bureaucrat deciding about the future of your family, your assets or your own care.  While estate planning does include a will and a plan to minimize tax, legal fees and legal complications, it is so much more than that.  It is ensuring that you remain in control of your life and assets.  That you decide who you trust to make those decisions on your behalf, that you decide how to distribute your assets, that you are in control over where and how you wish to live your life.

If you don’t have a plan, rest assured that all fifty states have differing ideas on how to “help” you should you become disabled in the future.  And it all starts with a court appointee.  If you are lucky, the court will seek to have a member of your family in charge, but even then, they will decide which family member is best suited for making these decisions and will likely provide oversight into your finances and decisions around money.  For instance, they may be the ones to decide whether to sell your home and have you placed in a senior facility so that there is easier access to your assets to pay for medical bills.  There are a myriad of decisions they can make which are likely to be in contradiction with your wishes, but by then it may be too late.  It is difficult to end a guardianship in the best of circumstances.  In the worst of circumstances, there are numerous cases nationwide where seniors are being abused by these very guardians that the court has appointed to be their voice and protector.  There are cases where families have not been allowed to remain in contact nor even be told of serious medical issues or death.  That not only have all the assets been squandered by the guardians, but the elderly are not being given minimal care.  It cannot be overstated how critical it is that you  work with a professional in your state and make a plan to ensure your wishes are carried out

The states also have different plans on how to distribute your wealth should you pass away without a will.  Some states require that the assets be divided among children and leave your spouse without enough to live on.  Should you be a parent with young children or already act as a guardian for young children, you would be leaving them to the state appointed guardian to make all decisions about their future and their money.

While there are numerous cases of elder abuse, it is unfortunately becoming increasingly common that some of this abuse is sanctioned by the courts, as it is perpetrated by those that are entrusted to care for those that are deemed unable to care for themselves. In Nevada, there have been claims of systematic abuses by guardians working within the medical and legal institutions to seek out wards in order to separate them from their families/lives and thus have full access to their monies.  Unfortunately, there are lawsuits across the county that claim abuse against the elderly.  Making your wishes known is not a foolproof plan, but it does ensure that you are in control over the things that are considered to be important by you.