Estate planning isn’t something many young people think about doing. Often, those in the prime of their lives feel like they have plenty of time to worry about taking care of making these plans later on once they’re closer to the age when most people get sick or pass away.
However, waiting can have some dire consequences if life doesn’t go according to plan. Taking a chance of facing those consequences simply isn’t worth it when it’s easy to make an estate plan now and update it later if need be.
You can check out five reasons listed here for why it doesn’t pay to put off estate planning. If you’re ready to move forward or want advice on what plans are right for you, you can also call the Northern California Center for Estate Planning and Elder Law today at (916) 437-3500 to schedule an appointment to speak with a Sacramento estate planning lawyer for help.
1. Waiting could mean losing the chance to make a plan
If you wait to make a plan until later, you may end up not being able to make a plan at all. You need to be of sound mind and body when putting an estate plan in place. No one knows when they will get sick or hurt and no longer meet this definition.
Since you cannot predict the date of your death or anticipate when you could get sick, you should act before that happens. It’s the only way to be sure you get to control what happens to you and your assets since you can’t go back in time once you’ve passed on or become incapacitated and make your plans then.
Changing or modifying an estate plan over time is easy, so get the groundwork in place so you are ready if the worst happens and your future isn’t as guaranteed as you think it is.
2. You could leave your kids unprotected
If you have small children, you absolutely owe it to them to make an estate plan now — before it is too late. In fact, it can be much more important for parents of young kids to have a plan than it is for elderly people to. That’s because if something happens to both parents, the plans they put in place can determine their children’s future. If they did not make an advance plan, then that could be left to the courts.
Parents can use their estate planning process to specify who should serve as a guardian for their minor children if the parents become unable to raise them to adulthood. Naming a guardian allows parents to choose someone who they believe will raise their child right. It also helps to avoid uncertainty and potentially even a custody battle after the parents pass away. Parents can also make plans to ensure their children are financially provided for — but don’t just inherit a huge sum of money once they turn 18 and have no guidance on what to do with it.
3. You could find your assets going to the wrong heirs
If you have no estate plan in place, intestacy laws are going to dictate who inherits. These can differ slightly from state to state. As a general rule, they do try to ensure that your closest relatives inherit. But it isn’t always obvious who you would prefer to receive your money and property — especially if you pass away at a young age and don’t have obvious heirs such as a spouse and children.
If you don’t want default laws to decide what happens to all of the stuff you have worked hard to acquire throughout your lifetime, you should use estate planning tools to make sure that doesn’t happen and to express your preferences for who should receive your assets when you are gone.
4. You might end up with the wrong medical decisions being made
You may not realize it, but estate planning does not just address what happens after you have passed away. It also gives you the chance to make an incapacity plan, which is a plan that controls what happens if you become physically or mentally incapacitated.
Your incapacity plan can dictate what kinds of medical care you want or don’t want to receive. Using a living will, you can get specific about things like whether you’d want to be kept alive on a ventilator or have other extraordinary measures used to prolong your life. And by naming a healthcare power of attorney, you can make absolutely certain the right person — who understands your wishes — makes any decisions not already directly addressed in your living will.
Don’t let the court end up having to appoint someone to make medical decisions for you or create a situation where your loved ones have to make tough choices and could potentially end up disagreeing with each other. Make your estate plan so you can be the one to make these life and death decisions about your own medical future.
5. You could make life more difficult for your loved ones
Finally, without an estate plan in place, you will make life difficult for loved ones in many ways.
As already mentioned, they may have to make tough medical choices, fight over custody of your kids, or go to court to have someone appointed to make medical decisions or manage assets. If they inherit through the probate process, they’ll also incur more costs and have to wait longer for the estate to be settled. So you can use tools such as a living trust to make sure they can get access to their inheritance more quickly and easily.
These are just a few of the reasons why it doesn’t pay to wait to make an estate plan. Call the Northern California Center for Estate Planning and Elder Law today at (916) 437-3500 to schedule an appointment to talk with a Sacramento estate planning lawyer who can assist you in making your future plans while you still can.
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