‘It’s not just for old rich people’: the case for making your estate plan now

Estate planning is not reserved for the wealthy, according to Legado co-founder Noelle McEntee, who argues that anyone with assets and loved ones should prepare a will or trust to avoid costly and prolonged court proceedings [1]. McEntee launched the online platform Legado in 2023 after her uncle died without a will, leaving his longtime partner uncertain about ownership of shared assets and even her right to remain in their home [1]. “You don’t need a butler and a rod iron fence to need an estate plan,” McEntee said. “If you have anything and you have people you love, even if what you have is very small, it still matters” [1]. A will is a document that states a person’s wishes but becomes public and can be contested, often landing the estate in probate, a court process where a judge makes final decisions based on state laws [1]. A revocable living trust, by contrast, places assets such as property, savings, retirement accounts and life insurance under the control of a trustee for named beneficiaries, and it typically avoids probate and remains private [1]. The probate process takes on average 16 months and can consume 3% to 8% of the total estate in attorney’s fees [1]. Legado offers a basic will for $99 and a trust for $599, compared with typical attorney-drafted costs of $300 to more than $1,000 for a will and $1,500 to $3,000 for a trust [1]. McEntee said a revocable living trust should not cost more than $2,500, and she advises clients to question any attorney who quotes a higher figure about the specific hourly work involved [1]. Many states also provide free templates for standard forms such as advanced medical directives and guardianship designations for children [1]. McEntee warned against a common piece of informal advice: adding a child as a co-owner on a bank account or home deed. That arrangement can expose the asset to the child’s creditors, lawsuits or divorces, and it carries a tax disadvantage compared with inheriting the asset through a will or trust [1]. She also noted that people often fail to fund their trust after creating it, leaving the legal structure empty [1]. High-profile estate battles illustrate the stakes of intestacy. When financier Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019, his estate was valued at $600 million, and hundreds of millions of dollars have since been paid to at least 200 women in legal settlements [4]. Additional settlements of $290 million from JP Morgan and $75 million from Deutsche Bank followed lawsuits alleging the banks enabled his abuse by retaining him as a client [4]. McEntee recommends revisiting an estate plan each year on a half-birthday and confirming beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts and bank accounts [1]. She also suggests using a password manager for digital accounts and designating a legacy contact for Apple or Google accounts so a surviving partner can access essential information [1]. “At the end of the day, remember you’re doing this work for other people in your life,” she said. “It’s the greatest, last gift you’ll give them” [1].