By Mark S. Lee, Contributing Columnist
Most of us spend a lifetime building what we have — a home, retirement savings, investments, a business or simply a financial cushion we hope will make life easier for our families.
But there is one important part of financial planning that too many people put off: deciding what happens to those assets when we are no longer here to make the decisions ourselves.
That is where estate planning comes in.
A will or trust may not be the most comfortable financial conversation to have, but it can be one of the most important. Estate planning isn’t just for wealthy people. It is about making your wishes clear, protecting the people you care about and reducing the possibility of confusion and conflict after you’re gone.
And the numbers show that too many Americans are leaving this important financial task unfinished.
According to Caring.com’s 2025 Wills & Estate Planning Survey, only 24% of Americans reported having a will, while 13% reported having a living trust. More than half of respondents had no will or trust. Perhaps most revealing, 43% of those without a will said they simply “haven’t gotten around to it.”
That’s a lot of procrastination when we’re talking about protecting a lifetime of work.
A will is the basic building block of an estate plan. It allows you to state who should receive your assets and who you want to handle your estate. For parents of minor children, it can also identify whom they would want to care for their children.
Without a valid will, your wishes don’t necessarily determine who receives your property. In Michigan, when someone dies without a will, the estate is distributed according to the state’s laws of intestate succession.
That doesn’t mean your family automatically loses everything. It means state law, rather than you, determines how certain assets are distributed.
A Trust can provide another level of control. Depending on the type of trust and your circumstances, it can help determine how and when beneficiaries receive assets and can allow certain assets to pass outside of probate.
For some families, a will may be sufficient. For others — particularly those with significant assets, a business, minor children, complicated family circumstances or specific wishes for how assets should be distributed — a trust may be an important part of the plan.
Caring.com’s 2025 survey found that only 16% of Black respondents reported having a will, compared with 24% of respondents overall. Even more concerning, 62% of Black respondents reported having no estate-planning documents at all.
That gap matters because estate planning is also about preserving wealth from one generation to the next. A will or trust can help families clearly establish ownership, determine who inherits assets and reduce the possibility that property becomes fragmented or caught up in complicated legal disputes.
And estate planning involves more than a will or trust.
Financial powers of attorney can identify someone you trust to make financial decisions if you’re unable to do so. Health care documents can communicate your wishes about medical care. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies should also be reviewed because those designations can determine who receives those assets.
Life changes can happen at any age. Marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the death of a beneficiary, a new business, a significant change in your finances or the purchase of a home can all be reasons to create or update an estate plan.
Pew Research Center’s 2025 survey found that only 32% of U.S. adults had created a will, meaning roughly two-thirds had not. Even among adults in their 60s, fewer than half had one.
Start by making a list of your major assets, financial accounts and insurance policies. Identify the people you want to protect and the people you trust to make decisions on your behalf. Then talk with an estate-planning attorney about whether a will, trust or combination of tools makes sense for you.
Estate planning isn’t really about death.
It’s about responsibility.
You’ve spent a lifetime building your financial house. A will and, when appropriate, a trust can help make sure someone else doesn’t have to figure out what to do with it after you’re gone.
Don’t wait until you need an estate plan. By then, it may be too late.
Money Matters.
We invite readers, business owners, and future entrepreneurs to follow along, ask questions, and engage. If you have story ideas or questions, you can email Lee at mark@leegroupinnovation.com or visit leegroupinnovation.com.
