Realistically, your concerns in college will relate to getting into the classes you want at the least disruptive times. As a young, invincible college student, you have most likely given zero thought about what will happen if you are in an accident. You may not be able to state your wishes for care and because you are an adult your parents can no longer make the decision. This is why you need an advance health care directive appointing someone to make health decisions for you.

Another aspect of an advance health care directive is the living will. Simply put, this part of the document clearly states your wishes with regard to what life saving procedures you would want. It can also address the issue of organ donation if it has not been previously noted on your driver’s license.

The last thing you are thinking of as a young adult is your will. You may not need to worry about minimizing estates taxes, given that you more than likely would have a small estate.  In the event that you do pass away, your parents are already suffering from the most unspeakable tragedy- and, add to that the issue of dealing with the mess you left behind because you didn’t leave a Will.  You may not have very much right now, but anything you own, like your car, savings bonds from Aunt Edith, etc. must be left through a Will.

Estate planning is complicated. Often numerous goals must be considered at the same time when creating an estate plan.

State laws vary. Wills, trusts and estates are governed by state law, meaning that the law in one state may not be the same as in another. Generic forms may not account for the changes in state laws.  Also, decisions affecting family  members are best discussed with a qualified estate planning attorney who is skilled in tax law, trust law, probate law, as well as dealing with family members.

Laws change. Laws of all kinds are subject to change. Laws relating to wills, trusts and estates change often, making generic forms outdated in many cases.

Estate planning requires an understanding of not just the law, but state and federal taxes as well.

An error in your Last Will and Testament could cause your estate to be distributed under state intestate succession laws which could bear no resemblance to your actual wishes.

Trusts are not “one size fits all”. Although you may be able to get a general idea of how a trust works without the help of an estate planning attorney, deciding which one is right for your needs is not that easy.

There is no second chance in estate planning. By the very nature of the purpose of an estate plan, by the time it is discovered that a mistake was made you may no longer be here to correct the mistake.

Qualifying for Medicare is easy. Anyone over the age of 65, as well as some people under 65 with a disability, are automatically eligible for Medicare. Your income and assets are not factored in to a Medicare application. In addition, since the Medicare program is both funded and administered by the federal government, the benefits of the program are the same for everyone without respect to your state of residence. Medicare does, however, require that you pay a monthly premium and the coverage is generally less than the Medicaid program coverage.

Qualifying for Medicaid, on the other hand, depends in large part on your household income and assets. In addition, because Medicaid is both federally and state funded, but state administered, the limits as well as the benefits will be slightly different from one state to another. On the plus side, there are no monthly premiums to pay and the scope of the coverage is generally broader. If you feel that the Medicaid program is what you need, but you have income and/or assets that may prevent you from being accepted, consult with your estate planning attorney. There may be estate planning tools that can help structure your estate in a way that will allow you to qualify.

People tend to think of abuse and neglect of the elderly as limited to physical or mental abuse. In fact, financial abuse is one of the most common forms of abuse. If you have an elderly loved one who requires care from someone outside the family, the risk of abuse is always present. Unfortunately, abuse can even occur within the family. Gaining control over an elderly victim’s finances can be done rather easily with the POA.

A POA can be very specific or can be very broad. A specific POA, for instance, may give someone the authority to complete the sale of a car on your behalf. A broad POA, however, basically opens up the flood gates to all of your assets and accounts. If someone convinces your elderly loved one to sign a broad POA, the perpetrator could clean out his or her accounts in record time. A broad POA is rarely needed, especially by someone who is not family. Be sure you talk to your loved one about POAs and encourage him or her to notify you immediately if anyone broaches the subject.

If you are married, you may want your spouse to manage your money in the event of your incapacity. You may even be under the impression that your spouse will automatically be allowed to manage your money simply by virtue of being your spouse. This is not necessarily the case. For anyone other than your spouse, they will almost certainly not be allowed access to your assets absent pre-planning on your part or a court order.

Without proper pre-planning on your part, anyone wishing to take control of your money or assets will need to petition a court for the authority to do so. This can cost both valuable time and money. Worse, it could result in a dispute if more than one person petitions the court for authority.

By taking time now to consider the possibility of your incapacity and creating a plan with the help of your estate planning attorney, you can decide now who will manage your money and what parameters should apply  if you ever become incapacitated. Although each plan may use different incapacity planning tools, creating joint accounts, a durable power of attorney and/or a revocable trust are all popular tools that you may incorporate into your plan.

For starters, the government estate plan typically requires your entire estate to be handled through the legal process known as probate. This can tie up your estate assets for months, leaving then inaccessible to loved ones.

Part of the intestate process requires the court to determine who the legal heirs to your estate are. Your legal heirs may not be the same people that you wanted to leave your assets to. For example, your girlfriend of 20 years is not a legal heir in most cases.

The government estate plan also requires an inventory and valuation of your estate assets. It could also include selling estate assets, even if they had sentimental value to you. Other decisions the court may make for you include who administers your estate (for a fee)and who is appointed as guardian of minor children.

Finally, the government plan will often cost more in administrative,  legal fees and often bonding fees  than you would have spent creating your own plan that could have avoided this entire process.

Your Estate Plan guarantees your choices.

Bob Marley: The man who put reggae music on the map died after an eight month long bout with cancer, yet did not see fit to create a Will prior to his death. After his death, alleged children, mothers of those children and various relatives filed claims to his estate estimated to be worth $30 million at the time.

Michael Jackson: Although a Will was eventually located, it initially appeared as though the King of Pop died intestate. Jackson’s mother even filed probate documents claiming that her son died intestate (without a Will).

Howard Hughes: The eccentric billionaire who was worth in the neighborhood of $2.5 billion when he died in 1976 failed to leave behind a Will. Although one was produced after his death, it was later determined to be a forgery. Eventually, 22 cousins inherited Hughes’s fortune.

Pablo Picasso: The famous artist died at the age of 91 leaving behind homes, cash and artwork valued in the millions, but did not leave behind a Will. Six years later, at an estimated cost of $30 million, his estate was settled.

Certainly none of us would like to leave our families in this disarray.  That’s why it’s important consult with a qualified Estate Planning Attorney.

Some assets you may wish to keep separate even after marriage. Assets such as family heirlooms or inheritance money that you feel should be left to any pre-existing children in the event of your death may be better off left separate and distinct from assets that you choose to combine with your new spouse. You should also be very clear in your estate plan what you wish to happen to those assets upon your death.

Other assets, however, may be better suited to co-mingling with your new spouse. By converting financial accounts or titles to jointly held, or pay on death accounts, your new spouse would have almost immediate access to those accounts in the event of your death instead of having to wait for the probate process to terminate. Be sure to talk to your estate planning attorney to find out what the benefits and drawbacks will be to converting accounts and titles before deciding to do so.

Creating a revocable trust requires you to appoint a trustee, name at least one beneficiary and allocate assets to fund the trust. A revocable trust allows you to appoint yourself as the trustee and beneficiary. In addition, you will need to nominate at least one successor trustee. This should be a spouse, child, parent or other loved one whom you wish to take over in the event of your incapacity.

After establishing the basic framework for the trust, you must decide on the trust terms. This is where you get to define what your own “incapacity” means. You could, for example, require a specific number of doctors to declare you incapacitated. You could also call for a panel of experts to make the decision or simply designate a family member or loved one to decide — it is your decision how you define the term.

Once you have been declared incapacitated, your successor trustee will take over control of the trust. The benefit to this arrangement is that there is no need to seek court approval. Your successor trustee has immediate access to the trust funds to be used for your care or the care of your family.

Your legacy plan is essentially an extension of your basic estate plan. A basic estate plan determines who will receive your assets upon your death; however, it may stop there. A legacy plan first looks at how you can preserve and increase your wealth now as well as provide for your golden years. It then takes into account the loved ones, family members and causes that are important to you and determines how to create a legacy for those people and causes that will continue long after your death.

With a legacy plan you can do much more than simply transfer your assets when you die. Often, directly transferring assets to a family member or loved one is not a good idea — particularly if the beneficiary does not know how to handle finances well. With a legacy plan, you can create trusts that will allow you to dictate the terms under which your assets can be used as well as preserve assets for generations to come. You may also wish to provide for a cause that has special meaning for you through the creation of a charitable trust. Your legacy is yours to create, so take the time now to do so.