According to a 2024 survey by Caring.com, only 32% of Americans have a will or estate plan, down 6% from 2023. The survey reveals that 40% of respondents believed they didn’t have enough assets to justify having a will.
If you count yourself among the many Americans who don’t have a will, estate plan or way to communicate your last wishes in writing, you’ll be happy to know that there’s a number of estate-planning activities you can accomplish on your own.
Even if you believe you don’t have enough assets or can’t pay for anyone to help you with estate planning, this guide provides tips on how to get started on your own.
Reasons to Prioritize Estate Planning
Estate planning is about more than deciding where your stuff ends up when you die. It’s also about honoring your final wishes if you cannot act or make decisions at any point.
If you don’t think you need estate-planning documents, here are three reasons that might change your mind:
1. You Have Some Assets or Debt
Contrary to popular belief, estate planning is not just for the ultra-rich planning to die with millions of assets on their books. Most people should have, at minimum, a plan to cover burial costs and outstanding debt.
[READ: Funeral Costs to Plan For]
Life insurance can also be valuable, depending on your financial situation. It can help cover any debts you have after you die and provide financial support for loved ones.
2. You Need Someone to Make Decisions for You
Proper estate planning allows you to designate someone you trust to handle your affairs when you die or become incapacitated.
“If you don’t appoint someone in your will or POAs, the government and health care agencies will have to make decisions for you, and they don’t truly know your wishes,” says Jay Zigmont, a certified financial planner who specializes in working with childfree clients.
3. You Want to Avoid Family Disputes
Remarriage, blended families and other non-traditional family arrangements can make decision-making or bequeathing assets difficult.
Putting your desires in writing can help this process go smoothly and according to your wishes. With clear instructions in an estate plan, you can prevent potential disputes among family members over how assets are distributed when you die.
And if you have minor children, making plans for them in the event of your untimely death can ensure they have a guardian of your choosing.
DIY Estate Planning
Though most financial and legal experts agree that it’s best to engage the help of professionals for estate planning, here’s a list of four things you can do until you have the resources.
[Read: Estate Planning Tips to Keep Your Money in the Family.]
1. Share a List of Your Assets, Debts and Accounts With Your Loved Ones
Creating a comprehensive list of your assets, debts and accounts is a crucial first step in estate planning, providing a clear picture of your financial situation. This includes retirement accounts, property deeds and even your digital accounts.
“The average person under 70 years old has more than 160 digital accounts,” says Mike Fiffik, attorney at Fiffik Law Group in Pittsburgh. “As a result, digital asset management is quickly becoming a crucial part of estate planning.”
He recommends using an online digital vault to collect and maintain your personal information, digital assets and logins, as well as sharing access with people you trust.
2. Update Beneficiaries
“One of the most effective cost-saving measures an individual can take for their estate plan is to designate beneficiaries (sometimes referred to as TOD/Transfer on Death or POD/Payable on Death) on their retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, life insurance policies, etc.,” says Dylan Stevens, an associate attorney at Cona Elder Law in New York.
Stevens explains how this low-cost estate planning move can be a huge money-saver: “This allows those assets to pass to the named beneficiary or beneficiaries immediately upon the asset owner’s death, without the need for probate of a will or other court involvement.”
[READ: 11 Steps to Writing a Will.]
3. Use Free or Low-Cost Online Resources
“Many states have statutory forms for powers of attorney and medical directives available online, which lets someone appoint another individual to act as his/her ‘proxy’ for financial and health care decisions, respectively,” says Sarah Broder, an attorney at Stein Sperling in Rockville, Maryland.
“Online solutions have now made estate planning affordable and accessible. Using online estate planning tools, individuals can create wills, living trusts, health care proxies, powers of attorneys and more,” says Renee Fry, the founder of Gentreo, an online estate-planning service.
For online templates, make sure you understand your state’s requirements so the document is legally binding. If your documents require witness or notary services, online notaries can notarize your documents and provide witnesses in a matter of minutes, often for $30 or less.
4. Save for Professional Help
Once you’ve taken these free or low-cost steps, the next ideal move is to create the most efficient estate plan possible, which may cost more money.
Begin speaking with professionals such as lawyers or CPAs to get an idea of pricing for the initial draft of your estate plan and periodic updates. Once you know these costs, start setting aside money as often as your budget allows.
If you’re still discouraged by the cost of professional help, the good news is that going the DIY route is becoming more efficient due to automation, which can expedite the creation of proper documents while taking your specific needs into account.
More from U.S. News
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What Is a Durable Power of Attorney?
Can’t Afford a Lawyer for Estate Planning? Do This Instead originally appeared on usnews.com
