“It’s never too early—or too late—to get your affairs in order. Here’s how.”
Death and taxes are, famously, the two certainties in life. But one of those things doesn’t seem to apply to everyone anymore, leaving one great equalizer. We all know death is coming for us someday—yet the majority of us, especially in America, are reluctant to plan for that eventuality. In 2025, only a quarter of U.S. adults have wills.
But whether you have $5 or $5 million, you’ve gotta get organized. “It sounds like something land barons would have, but anybody who is a legal adult needs an estate plan,” says Chanel Reynolds, creator of Get Your Shit Together, a site that offers estate planning help, and author of What Matters Most.
“When we don’t get our shit organized, we leave a big mess that is emotionally awful, takes hundreds of hours to get through, and can cost thousands of dollars.” That’s why leaving a plan in place is the best gift you will ever give your friends and family.
“Planning for death can be just something we do—the same way we get mammograms and go to the doctor and change our furnace filters,” Reynolds says.
How do you navigate the mind-numbing, agita-inducing legalese of wills and trusts? We’re here to hold your hand. Let’s go.
Start now, no matter how old you are.
“When people ask me when they should start organizing this stuff, I always say yesterday, because you never know what’s going to happen today or tomorrow, ” says Lawrence Macklin, president of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. In general, once you have valuable things in your life—a car, house, pet, or baby—you really should have an estate plan in place. A 20- or 30-year-old might feel exempt, but they should have a plan, too, even if it’s just designating $500 to Planned Parenthood. It’s never too late, either. Are you in your 70s and reading this? Get cracking.
“When we don’t get our shit organized, we leave a big mess that is emotionally awful, takes hundreds of hours to get through, and can cost thousands of dollars.” That’s why leaving a plan in place is the best gift you will ever give your friends and family.
Find an expert to guide you.
One way is hiring an estate planning attorney. “Going through your state’s required legal process on your own is an otherworldly hellscape tarpit of a situation I wouldn’t wish on anybody,” Reynolds says.
“Having a guide or professional navigate that process can be a huge help.” Ask your circle for a referral, or check out your county’s bar association for a list of attorneys. There are caveats, however. First, because baby boomers reign supreme right now, estate attorneys are booked and busy and might have monthslong waiting lists.
Second, working with a professional can cost thousands of dollars…read the full article at Oprah Insider
Review your documents every so often.
You can, and that’s the beauty of having them in place. As Reynolds says, “Once we have our shit together, it’s much easier to keep our shit together.”
“Once we have our shit together, it’s much easier to keep our shit together.”
Anything can be amended, from your beneficiaries to which child should get your silver or your Beanie Babies collection. That said, you don’t need to constantly stay on top of them, either. Reaves suggests reviewing your documents every five years, or when big life changes (having a baby, buying a house) take place. The more of a habit you make it, the less daunting and emotional it will be.
Read the full article by Cassie Hurwitz at Oprah Insider