If you are a real estate mogul, own a business, have children, or have acquired assets throughout your life, you should have will. No question about it. However, what about when you’re just starting out in life? Let’s say you’ve graduated college and are working your first “grown-up” job. You’ve got some student loan debt. You car isn’t much younger than you. You haven’t married or had children yet. You live in an apartment. In that case, do you really need a will? You may be thinking no, but the answer may not be as cut and dry as that. You may still want to have a will for a couple of reasons.
To start with, at some point in your life, you probably will have a good reason to have a will and other estate planning documents. You’ll have children, buy a house, and obtain other assets. It’s a good idea to get in the habit of creating and updating a will now, while it isn’t an absolute necessity. That way, it’ll be a routine item for you later on in life.
Another reason you may want to create a will now is that, while you may not have a lot of money, you probably still have some. For instance, if you have a savings account or a 401(k), that money will be paid to someone in the event of your death. In addition, whether they’re valuable or not, there are all your possessions (furniture, clothes, knick-knacks, etc.) to think about. What do you want to happen to those in the event of your death?
A third reason to consider drawing up a will is that, while you may not be worth much (financially) at this point in your life, you may be worth a lot in death. For example, do you have a life insurance policy? Another example would be if you were to die due to someone else’s negligence, such as in a car crash. Your executor or beneficiaries, as designated in your will, could bring a wrongful death suit against the party involved.
In summary, even at a young age, when you have not yet acquired much of significant value, you may still want to consider drafting a will. The plus side to not having a complicated estate is that the process should be relatively simple.
