What makes you tremble when you think about estate planning? On this Halloween day, I thought I’d let you in on a few of the estate planning fears people have shared with me over the years:

If I plan for death, I will die. This is a very real fear for some people. If it’s a comfort, I can say that I’ve never known of an estate plan to trigger a death. I have, however, known several people who died without having an estate plan in place, and their failure to plan resulted in considerable and unnecessary confusion, heartbreak, work, and expense.

Preparing a will or trust is too complicated. True, there is work involved, and sometimes our individual situations are complicated. You will have to gather some basic information before you meet with one of our attorneys, but we will send you a checklist that you can probably complete within a couple of hours. At our initial meeting, we will take as much time as is needed to explain the estate planning process, review your checklist, and guide you through whatever decisions need to be made. An estate plan can usually be completed in two meetings, with our second meeting devoted to reviewing and signing your estate plan documents.

I will need to make some hard decisions. This may be the biggest roadblock of all. Families aren’t perfect. Sometimes we need to plan around unique situations and dynamics. While all decisions ultimately rest with you, we bring many years of experience to the table and can often present objective insights or suggestions that you may not have thought of.

What are the fears that keep you from making or updating your estate plan? Whatever they are, our estate planning attorneys can help you get past them. Please call us at (248) 477-6300.