Some Delaware residents never create estate plans, and they often cite similar reasons for failing to do so. Some feel as if they do not have enough assets to make estate planning worthwhile. Others neglect to create estate plans because they do not have children and thus see no real need to do so.
Yet, Kiplinger notes that there are sizable benefits that come with creating even a simple estate plan, and some of these benefits have nothing to do with having children. Why might you want to have an estate plan in place if you do not have children to name as beneficiaries?
You want control over your medical care
While some parts of estate planning involve planning for your death, others involve planning for potential incapacity. Advance health care directives give you a way to assert your preferences when it comes to your medical care, should you not be able to verbalize them due to incapacitation.
You want to leave money to charity
You may not have a son or daughter to leave your legacy behind to, but that does not mean you have to surrender control of what happens to it. If you have a charitable cause that is important to you, consider using your estate plan to leave that organization some or all of your legacy.
You may also use an estate plan to outline what you want to happen to any pets that might outlive you or how you want to handle your funeral and burial expenses, among other reasons having an estate plan may benefit you.