Many people in Delaware commonly think of an estate plan as a way of identifying what family members will inherit what assets from a person’s estate after they die. This is generally considered to be one way that parents or grandparents take care of their children or grandchildren. However, a single person with no children does not have these same concerns. That, however, does not mean that they are not in need of a good estate plan.
As explained by Fidelity Investments, estate planning for married couples or for people with children, regardless of their marital status, centers around providing care for someone else. Estate planning for an unmarried person who has no children instead centers around providing care for themselves. Such care may include making important decisions such as those required for a person’s health or financial matters.
An advanced directive allows you to stipulate what measures you would or would not want to undergo to keep you alive or extend your life. A health care proxy allows another person to make medical decisions on your behalf if a situation arises rendering you unable to do so, such as a serious accident. You can empower another person to manage your finances via a power of attorney, another important tool for ensuring your wishes are followed.
If you would like to learn more about how you might approach estate planning and create a plan that appropriately reflects your current and future life situations and needs, please feel free to visit the single person’s asset and decision making preparation page of our estate planning website.