A will is a fairly simple document setting forth how you want your assets to be distributed and minor children to be cared for in the event you pass away. In your 20s and 30s, the last thing on your mind is probably any sort of estate planning or will. This type of planning is not enjoyable or fun by any means, but any good Charleston financial advisor will tell you it’s very important to start thinking about it early in your family’s life.  

Ideas, beliefs, and lifestyles tend to shift and evolve from generation to generation. This especially holds true for millennials! For instance, more millennials live with a partner without getting married, a contrast with marriage patterns among prior generations. Additionally, many millennials co-parent or have children together outside of the confines of marriage. These personal lifestyles affect how you construct your estate plan. For example, if you and your partner decide to stay together without being legally married, then you may want to make specific arrangements to include them in your will. If you decide to raise kids together, you will want to establish terms of legal guardianship and subsequent future estate plans with the kids in mind.

Creating and refining an estate plan as you make these big life decisions is so important and can prove invaluable for your loved ones in the tragic event of a parent’s death. You should think about who will have financial and custodial guardianship of your children in the event of your death. Listing guardians for your children in your estate plan is critical for their well-being in such a situation, especially if your children are minors.

A solid estate plan will drastically reduce potential family drama. The loss of a loved one is an extremely difficult circumstance for the entire family, and confusion over the proper distribution of the estate adds an element of stress that is unnecessary and potentially harmful. Your Charleston financial advisor can help you think through how your resources can be equitably passed down to your beneficiaries.

Another big difference between millennials and prior generations is their digital footprint.  Technology has revolutionized the way most people do things and has especially impacted millennials at work and in daily life. This means quite a bit of banking, financial transactions, and communication is performed with the click of some buttons on cell phones or computers. What do these factors have to do with estate planning? When drafting an estate plan, your social media accounts may not be the first thing to come to mind. However, things like social media accounts are personal property and may carry significant value. Online accounts may require a two-factor authentication through a mobile device which is password protected, your estate plan should provide instructions on how to access both the mobile device and the authentication application.

We advise consulting an attorney to create an estate plan with all of these and other considerations in mind–an experienced estate lawyer can help you think of all the relevant factors and address them in your will.

Have questions about what will happen to your accounts and possessions in the event of your death? Make sure there are no questions about your wishes and that your estate is used to benefit those you love. Your Charleston financial advisor at Twenty Fifty Capital is your partner in navigating these confusing topics and introducing you to an attorney who can help you put it down in writing.

‍