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What are some special concerns for a single person’s estate?

On Behalf of | Sep 30, 2019 | Estate Planning

As a single person in Georgia, you may not give much thought to what will happen after die. Whether you have close family or not, you may just think everything will take care of itself once you leave this world, but that is not what happens. Someone will be left with a headache if you do not plan ahead with a solid estate plan. Being single means that there are some special considerations you need to make.

Because you are not married, explains Forbes, you really need to plan out who will take care of your estate in the event you become unable to do so or if you should die. It is important that you plan who will handle health care decisions, specifically, since you could end in a situation where you cannot do that yourself. State inheritance laws will choose this person for you if you do not, but it is better to plan it out for yourself. When you are married, the duties generally fall to your spouse, but being single, you do not have that option.

It is especially important to take care of your children in your estate plan if you are a single parent and the other parent is dead or not in the picture. You do not want the state to take over the care of y our children should something happen to you.

It is also wise to plan out your finances. You need to make sure taxes and debt are handled so that your next of kin is not stuck with the bill.