67% of Adults Have No Estate Plan. Are You One of Them?
Nobody Thinks It Will Happen to Them
My brother was an accountant. He was also an attorney.
He knew exactly what happens when someone dies without an estate plan. He had seen it professionally. He understood the process, the delays, the cost, the burden it places on the people left behind.
He had no estate documents.
When he died, his two daughters spent a year and a half navigating probate. A year and a half of court dates, legal fees, delays, and paperwork — at one of the hardest times of their lives — because he had not gotten around to doing the thing he knew needed to be done.
I share this not to be harsh toward my brother. I share it because if an accountant and attorney who understood estate planning didn't do it, there is likely someone reading this right now who hasn't either.
You are not alone. But the people who love you will feel very alone if you leave without a plan in place.
The Number That Stops Most People Cold
Sixty-seven percent of American adults have no estate plan.
No will. No power of attorney. No trust. Nothing.
That means roughly two out of every three people you know are leaving the distribution of everything they own — and every decision about their medical care if they cannot speak for themselves — entirely to chance, to state law, and to a probate process that can take anywhere from several months to well over a year to resolve.
This is not a wealthy-people problem. It is not a complicated-assets problem. It is a human problem that affects every family, at every income level, when someone dies or becomes incapacitated without documentation in place.
And the reason most people avoid it is not that they don't care about their families.
It is that dealing with it means thinking about death. And most of us would rather not.
I understand that. I really do. But as I have told people more than once: you have people in your life you do not want to burden. Getting your estate documents together is one of the most loving things you can do for them.
What You Actually Need — Explained Simply
Estate planning sounds like a wealthy person's concern. It is not. Here is what the basic documents are and what each one does.
A Will
A will specifies who gets what when you die. Without one, your state decides — using a formula that may have nothing to do with what you actually wanted or who actually needs what you have. If you have minor children, a will is also where you designate who raises them if something happens to you.
A Financial Power of Attorney
This document designates someone to manage your finances if you become incapacitated — if you are in an accident, have a serious medical event, or develop a condition that affects your ability to make decisions. Without this, your family may not be able to pay your bills, access your accounts, or manage your affairs without going to court to be appointed your legal guardian. That process is expensive, slow, and entirely avoidable.
A Medical Power of Attorney (Healthcare Directive)
This designates someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot make them yourself. It also lets you document your own wishes — what kind of care you do or do not want in specific circumstances. This is the document that speaks for you when you cannot speak.
A Trust
A trust is often thought of as something only wealthy people need. It is not. A trust does one primary thing that a will cannot: it allows your assets to pass directly to your beneficiaries without going through probate.
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling an estate. It is public, it takes time — often a year or more — and it can be costly. A trust sidesteps all of that. Your named successor trustee can step in immediately, handle what needs to be handled, and the whole process stays private.
I set up my own trust years ago — not because I have significant wealth, but because I have three sons who will never agree on anything, and I did not want to leave that problem for them to sort out at the worst possible moment.
One important note: retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s transfer outside of a trust through their own beneficiary designations. Do not put retirement accounts inside a trust — that creates a taxable event you do not want. Check your beneficiary designations on those accounts separately and make sure they reflect what you actually want.
What Probate Actually Looks Like
When my brother died without a will, his daughters had to go through probate. A year and a half. Court appearances. Legal fees. Decisions that should have taken days took months.
I recently helped a client's daughter navigate the aftermath of her mother's death. Her mother had set up a trust — something she had done after we talked about it, though she ended up going through an attorney rather than the service I work with and spent around $5,000. When her daughter called me after her mother passed, she thought she needed to go back to an attorney and get formally appointed to manage the estate.
She did not. She was named as successor trustee. She was on the checking account. She could act immediately. We walked through it together and she handled everything without a single court date.
That is what a trust does. It gives the people who love you a clear path forward at the moment when they have the least capacity to figure things out on their own.
The Minimum You Should Have in Place Today
If reading this far has you thinking about your own situation, let me give you the simplest possible starting point.
At the absolute minimum, every adult should have:
A will that specifies where your assets go and who is responsible for carrying out your wishes.
A financial power of attorney naming someone you trust to manage your money if you cannot.
A medical power of attorney naming someone to speak for your healthcare if you cannot.
Those three documents do not require a trust. They do not require significant assets. They require a decision, a few hours, and someone you trust enough to name.
If you have property, significant assets, or people who depend on you financially, a trust is worth a serious look. The cost through an estate planning service — rather than a traditional attorney — can come in well under $2,000. A traditional attorney typically runs $4,000 to $5,000 or more. The documents are the same. The protection is the same. The cost difference is significant.
Why People Keep Putting This Off
I want to be direct about something.
The reason most people delay estate planning is not logistical. It is emotional. Doing this requires sitting with the reality that you will not be here forever — and that the people you love will have to manage without you.
That is genuinely hard to think about. I am not dismissing it.
But I have sat with families on the other side of this — after the unexpected death, after the accident, after the diagnosis — and I can tell you with complete certainty that the paperwork burden, the financial cost, and the emotional weight of dealing with an estate in crisis is far harder than the discomfort of making a plan when everything is fine.
You do not have to do everything at once. Start with the three documents. Name your people. Get it signed and witnessed properly. Then revisit a trust when you are ready.
Do it for them. Because you will not be there to help them figure it out if you don't.
Ready to Finally Get This Done?
If you have been putting off your estate documents — or if you are not sure what you have in place or whether it still reflects your wishes — I can help you think through what you actually need.
I work with an estate planning service that has licensed attorneys in every state. The process is done in conversation, the documents are attorney-reviewed, and there is an eleven-month window to make changes after the initial setup at no additional charge. The cost is a fraction of what a traditional attorney typically charges.
This is not a service I promote to everyone. It is something I facilitate because I have seen firsthand what happens when people do not have these documents — to the people they leave behind.
Reach out here to talk through your estate planning needs.
And if you are not quite ready for that conversation, my free ebook Build Your Future Blueprint covers the financial foundation you need in place before and during retirement — including the estate planning pieces.
Or book a complimentary 30-minute get acquainted call and we can start wherever you are.
You have worked hard to build what you have. Make sure the people you love can actually benefit from it.
Joann North, CFP, is the founder of JNorth Financial LLC. She has worked in financial services for over 30 years, helping professional women build clear, personalized plans for their financial futures.
