Four Important Considerations for Young Adults in Cherry Hills as They Assess Their Estate Planning Needs

When it comes to estate planning, you may think of your elderly loved ones right away. Also, you should also make time to discuss estate planning with the young adults in your family. No one is too young in terms of planning for the future. A skilled Cherry Hill estate planning lawyer can help you discuss this matter with your family’s young adults:

Once your child turns 18, they become an adult under the law. At this stage of their life, you may not be able to make some financial and medical decisions for them. Also, in young adulthood, a lot of major milestones usually happen including getting a college education, purchasing a house, marrying someone, and having kids. Such life events make it even more important for young adults to consider estate planning now. While they evaluate their estate planning needs, they must take the following into account:

Durable Power of Attorney

Young adults must sign a Health Care Proxy that outlines their health care wishes should they become incapacitated. Also, they should appoint a Durable Power of Attorney to make financial decisions for them when necessary.

Asset Protection

Usually, young adults fail to realize the value their estate because of high debt loads. But everything from family heirlooms, real estate, jewelry, and vehicles have value. Young adults must determine who and how to distribute these assets. A lot of young adults may marry later in their life; however, may still share assets with partners. By creating an estate plan, they can ensure their unmarried partner can still stay in their house, no matter who legally owns the house. 

Digital Asset Protection

These days, young adults use the internet for everything. Because of this, families must know the location of their digital assets. Treasured photographs might only be kept on a personal computer or social media accounts are examples of digital assets. Young adults can add a Digital Executor to their estate to ensure the people they love can access their digital information. 

Children and Pet Guardianship

Estate planning is especially important when a child is born. Creating a will and naming guardians for kids ensure they will be taken care of by somebody they can trust when something happens to the parents. Young adults must understand why it is important to make decisions and not leave this task to a judge. 

In addition, for young adults who have pets, planning for their fur babies is also an essential consideration. They can set up a pet trust to protect their pets and invest in greater accountability for their care.