Estate Planning for Millennials in Pennsylvania | What You Should Know

Creating an estate plan is something that everyone should do in their lifetime. Estate plans protect far more than assets, which is something every millennial should understand, as many millennials use “not having many assets” as their primary reason for neglecting to create an estate plan. The truth is, no matter your age, it is never too early to create a comprehensive estate plan that will grow and change over the years. Read on and reach out to our knowledgeable Pennsylvania estate planning attorneys to learn more about estate planning for millennials and how our firm can help get you started. Here are some of the questions you may have for our firm:

Why should I create an estate plan as a millennial?

There are various reasons you should create an estate plan. One of the main reasons people create estate plans is to ensure that their assets are distributed to their loved ones upon their passing, including their spouses. However, even if you are not yet married though you have a long term partner, you can still include your partner in your estate plan with the following documents:

• Wills and trusts: These are cornerstone estate planning documents, and they will help ensure your assets are transferred to your loved one when you pass away.
• A medical power of attorney: When someone becomes mentally incapacitated, they should have appointed someone who can make key medical decisions on their behalf. You can do so by appointing your loved one in a medical power of attorney. 
• A durable power of attorney: Durable powers of attorney give an appointed loved one the right to make certain financial decisions on your behalf, should you ever become incapacitated.  

What should I do to protect my children in my estate plan?

If you have children who are under the age of 18, regardless of whether you are married, you should strongly consider creating a guardianship. This will help ensure that if the day comes where you and your spouse can no longer care for your child, your child will go into the care of a trusted loved one that you appointed. If you and your spouse were to pass before creating a guardianship, courts will determine who will raise your child on their own. While they will try to look out for your child’s best interests, they do not know what those are like you do.

What is a digital estate plan?

Everyone, especially millennials have digital assets in today’s day and age. These can include social media logins/passwords, online gift cards/rewards cards, intellectual property, photographs/videos, Smart devices, and more. You can appoint a digital executor to handle these assets upon your passing. For any additional questions about estate planning for millennials, give us a call today.

CONTACT OUR EXPERIENCED PENNSYLVANIA FIRM

Whether you are dealing with matters involving estate planning, estate administration, or elder law, you need a legal team that you can feel confident will represent your best interests, every step of the way. We are that legal team. Contact Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning today so we can get started.