I often talk with people who erroneously believe that since they are not millionaires or billionaires that they do not need an estate plan. They laugh and tell me that they have "no estate" and that they only have a house or car so they have no estate hence no need for an estate attorney. In truth, my clients are not diving into pools filled with gold coins. They are hard-working people. They have dedicated their lives to trying to take care of their families. Just because you do not have a private yacht does not mean you do not need an estate plan. The biggest reason you want an estate plan is that you want to have an idea of who is going to get your property after you pass. Even if you do not care what happens to it - which is not the case most of the time - you still need to consider what will happen to your heirs if you do not plan anything. Most likely, your loved ones will contribute to the Commonwealth with some high cost on probate and estate taxes coming out of your property. If you have any real property such as the house or a car, there might be a fight within the family or even a loss of that property in an effort to choose where it goes. IN the end, an estate can rip a family apart with "I should get this" and "you don't deserve that". You may have your own reason for planning an estate. Perhaps you want to make sure someone gets something particular or you have minor children that you want to ensure are cared after. You may want to make sure that the government does not get too much of your property. The point remains there are many reasons to create an estate plan that does not involve.
