Estate Planning in Your 60s: It’s Never Too Late to Get Started

Almost everyone understands that writing a will and establishing an estate plan are matters of practical necessity. However, taking your first steps toward preserving a legacy is often the most difficult. Far too many Americans, including many retirees, never put their wishes on paper—inadvertently risking their heirs’ inheritances and leaving their life’s work to the mercy of a California probate court.

Even if you are already in your 60s, it is never too late to get started on an estate plan. The Law Firm of Kavesh, Minor & Otis, Inc. has spent decades helping people in the Golden State gain peace of mind. We can help you make an estate plan that suits your needs, preserves your beliefs, and helps protect your family from life’s many uncertainties.

No Matter Your Age, You Need an Estate Plan

Making mistakes in estate planning is easy—and one of the most common is believing that it is too late to start establishing a legacy. Many older adults know how they want their assets distributed and who they want as heirs, but they’ve neglected to take the first step to ensure their legacy goes to the people they love.

Even if you’re in your 60s or 70s, delaying the process of estate planning could prove disastrous. If you do not already have an estate plan or you have one that needs revising, you may end up leaving your legacy in the hands of a California probate court. This is because the estates of people who have died without wills are, under Golden State law, subject to the rules of intestate succession.

In an intestate succession, the probate court is bound by a strict set of rules. These rules govern inheritances, and they almost always privilege close blood relations, often to the detriment of other intended heirs.

Establishing an Estate Plan: Take Your First Steps

Every estate plan is a reflection of a unique life lived—of your relationships, your aspirations, and the legacy you intend to leave behind. However, life rarely goes as expected. Personal tragedies, illnesses, and diseases can compromise an existing estate plan or complicate the process of finally putting one together. If you are now in your 60s, you may need to consider:

Creating an Estate Plan Now

Your estate plan can do more than help you make inheritance decisions. It could also protect your interests in the event that you are ever incapacitated or suffer cognitive decline.

While every estate plan is different, yours should include the following documents:

A last will and testament
Approved beneficiary designations
An advance health care directive
Durable powers of attorney
A personal letter of intent

Depending on your own aspirations, you may also benefit from the formation of a revocable living trust. A trust, a type of legal entity capable of receiving and managing assets, can be used to bypass probate in its entirety, letting heirs receive their inheritances without the need to go to court.

Revising an Existing Estate Plan

Even if you already have an existing estate plan, you may need to update it. This is especially true if your last will was written decades earlier or if you have not revised your beneficiary designations after re-marrying.

You may need to review your estate plan if any of the following conditions exist:

You married or re-married since writing your first will
You have been divorced
You have had a child or more children
Your legal, health, or financial circumstances have changed significantly
It has been a long time since you last looked at your estate plan

The Law Firm of Kavesh, Minor & Otis, Inc. is committed to helping Californians find the estate planning solutions that work best for them. We could help you create an estate plan or work through one that is no longer capable of honoring your intent.

The Law Firm of Kavesh, Minor & Otis, Inc. for Your Estate Planning and Probate Needs

If you need to create an estate plan, update your current plan, or handle the estate of someone who’s died, The Law Firm of Kavesh, Minor & Otis, Inc. is here to help. We only handle estate planning and post-death administration, and together, our attorneys have more than 70 years of combined experience in these fields.

Our law firm has helped over 25,000 people in California leave a lasting legacy to their loved ones, getting to know each client, listening to their concerns, and learning about their needs and goals to create a plan that carries out their wishes. Additionally, we’ve implemented 4,000 plans after clients have passed away. Let us take care of you throughout the estate planning process. Contact The Law Firm of Kavesh, Minor & Otis, Inc., or call us at 1-800-756-5596.

When You Want the Very Best for Your Loved Ones, Choose Us.

Experience and Expertise. Estate planning and post-death administration are all we do. Our attorneys have over 70 years of combined expertise in the field, and three of our attorneys have passed an additional Bar examination and peer review process to become State Bar Certified Specialists in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. Two of our attorneys also have Master’s Degrees in Tax Law, giving us unique insight into how estate tax and income tax will affect your family’s inheritance.

Customization and Attention to Detail. Before we create or update your estate plan, we get to know you, your goals, and what matters to you most. We take the time to listen to your concerns and attend to each of your unique needs and desires as if they were our own. When we complete your plan, we perform a detailed quality control process to help ensure your objectives are met. We also provide you with a personalized Owner’s Manual containing all of your important documents, and your Successor Trustee with a Manual containing helpful, plain-English checklists and easy-to-follow procedures.

Lifetime Relationship. All of our estate plans include a free ongoing service package. We take phone calls any time you have questions, perform free estate planning checkups every three years, and keep you abreast of changes in the law and planning strategies with our complimentary newsletters and educational seminars. And, when the time comes, we will be there to help your trustee and loved ones.