2019 is officially upon us. If you’re like most people, the beginning of a new year is a time to contemplate what changes might make your life more simple, manageable, or easy to enjoy. For many, these changes include traditional goals, such as improving diet or getting back in the gym. While such resolutions are laudable, there’s an even more significant life change that you should seriously consider to kickoff 2019: getting your will and other estate planning documents drafted.

Taking the time to have your estate planning documents created is a responsibility that everyone should take on sooner rather than later. Here’s why: you never know what tomorrow may bring, and it is much better for you and your loved ones if have prepared documents directing what your wishes are in the event you need medical care or pass away.  Without the required legal paperwork in place, your surviving heirs will be subject to a lengthy, complicated probate process that will be far more expensive than what it would have cost you to draft a will. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that the family members you want to receive your possessions will actually get them if your desires are not properly recorded in an official legal document.

Getting your estate planning finalized will also affect your own wellbeing. For instance, drafting your Medical Power of Attorney and Directive to Physicians documents will determine which decisions are made on your behalf, and who is legally allowed to make them, should you ever become terminally ill or incapacitated later in life. Under such circumstances, some people prefer to be kept alive by medical machinery for as long as possible, while others prefer to pass away naturally. Some people want to ensure a particular loved one has the legal right to make decisions on their behalf in the event of their incapacitation (and some people want to ensure others do not have that right)  Whatever your personal preference may be, it’s important that you legally document that preference.

The thought of starting a New Year resolution can turn the most ambitious of us into procrastinators. However, unlike other resolutions that require daily maintenance to uphold, getting your estate planning documents drafted and ratified can be completed in two visits or less to an attorney’s office. Best of all, once they’re completed, they will last a lifetime. If you’re interested in making estate planning one of your 2019 resolutions, call the Law Office of Kara Jones at (512) 337-5030 to schedule your consultation.