The U.S. Trust report on affluent Americans' relationships with their money, which we discussed here recently, also uncovered some data on how well people are prepared for their end-of life issues. And the data is very mixed. Some of it is very good: 91 percent of the respondents had a will, and 88 percent of them reported having an estate plan. But only around 40 percent said they would describe their estate plan as "comprehensive."
What's missing? For some people, it's some pretty basic stuff. A fifth of all the respondents had not developed a living will, and 31 percent had not named a durable power of attorney. About half had not left documented instructions for how their heirs should divide their personal property - even though a quarter of those surveyed agreed that their heirs had no idea how to divide those personal effects.
Small-business owners fared the worst of all. Only 3 percent said they had a documented succession plan for the business. If you see yourself in any of these figures, give me a call and we'll help you get your affairs straightened out.
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