Mighty Women - Guardians of the Estate!

Why is Estate Planning absolutely crucial for women in particular? For many reasons!

Women often lead out as the guardians and caretakers of the people in their circle. As such, they often carry the task of seeing long-term needs and of anticipating life scenarios. When women recognize and harness their ability to plan ahead and marshal resources on their own behalf and for others, their actions can make all the difference for future outcomes.

There is no question that Estate Planning affects women more profoundly than men. Women are often the ones who will make final decisions around how family estate assets are held and distributed. Statistics tell us that among the 65 and older set, 42% of women are widowed as compared to 14% of men. Considering that women often marry someone older than themselves, have a longer life expectancy, and generally have a lower percentage of lifetime earnings, their economic well being and quality of life is far more likely to be compromised by a lack of careful Estate Planning. Indeed, for women, having a clear grasp what end of life arrangements are best for oneself just makes good sense.

In what has historically been a paternalistic field, there can be a lingering sense of nervousness in women around finances and estate planning, leading to a willingness to “leave those arrangements to the menfolk” and lawyers. This yielding of oversight can propagate legal tools that interfere in a woman’s economic autonomy - techniques like locking up assets in Trusts for widows who are presumed to be incompetent at handling their own finances or vulnerable to predatory situations.

Of course there is also a continuing increase in the number of women who are building substantial economic wealth and resources through entrepreneurship, requiring attention to how to manage these resources for the long game.

Given all of these factors, today is the perfect day to consider what steps you can take to create strong legal documents to Build Your Circle of Security. These will include either a Will or Trust, a Healthcare Power of Attorney to specify your healthcare preferences if incapacitated, and a Financial Power of Attorney to enlist an agent to tend to your financial and business affairs in case you are unable to care for them yourself.

Remember that the team at Hillsborough Wills & Trusts has the expertise to help you create an Estate Plan that ensures that all that is of greatest value, your children, pets, assets, health care decisions and final arrangements, will be protected, distributed and honored in a way that reflects your intentions and desires.

Call us for a free consultation at 919-245-8440 or contact us today.