I recently read this post by my colleague and friend, Steve Worrall, an estate planning attorney in Georgia. Mr. Worrall points out several reasons why an estate plan is of critical importance for young professionals. I’m not going to re-print the list here, you’ll have to read his post. And I believe the items he mentions are just as important to Grand Rapids Young Professionals . . . hey, that’s catchy . . . I belong to a group by that name! I assure you that estate planning is critically important whether you belong to the group or not.
As a young professional myself, I have a strong passion for reaching out to fellow Grand Rapids young professionals to make sure they have a plan in place for themselves and their family if something happened to them. I’m happy to say that the idea of estate planning is typically warmly received. I think the biggest struggle for Grand Rapids young professionals and planning is that nobody has ever explained the importance of estate planning to them. As a matter of fact, if I were not an estate planning lawyer I probably wouldn’t have heard about the importance of estate planning either!
And that is why I try to get the word out through speaking engagements and networking with my fellow young professionals. Being one, and knowing many, let’s me know that young professionals do recognize the importance of estate planning…as long as someone will care enough to talk with them about it. You’ve worked hard in college, your job, and possibly post-graduate work and you surely don’t want all you’ve worked for to be lost to court proceedings, costs and potentially not benefiting those for whom you cared the most. And you don’t have to be married or have children to benefit from estate planning.
Finally, don’t forget to work with a grand rapids estate planning lawyer who plans for life by having systems and processes in place to make sure your estate plan is kept up to date. With all the hustle and bustle of life as a young professional, there is no doubt that your life, your assets and the law is going to change throughout your life. You should make sure that your estate plan changes to keep up and that your estate planning attorney doesn’t leave the responsibility for the changes all on your shoulders.
Don’t let Michigan law determine what will happen to what you’ve worked so hard for. Call us at 616-827-7596 to find out what would happen if something happened to you and how YOU can have a say in how things are handled.
Michael Lichterman is an estate planning attorney who helps families and business owners create a lasting legacy by planning for their Whole Family Wealth™. This goes beyond merely planning for finances – it’s about who your are and what’s important to you. He focuses on planning for the “experienced” generation, the “sandwich generation” (caring for parents and children), doctors/physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, professionals with minor children, and family owned business succession – and he is privileged to do so from a Christian perspective. He takes the “counselor” part of attorney and counselor at law very seriously, and enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients – many of which have become great friends.