Break out the party hats! Pop open the bubbly! It’s party time!

What party, you may ask? Well, doesn’t everyone know that this week is National Estate Planning Awareness Week? In 2008, Congress designated the third week of October as a week Americans can focus on the important issues of estate planning.

As stated in the resolution passed by Congress, which you can find here, over 120 million Americans are estimated not to have an up-to-date estate plan. And over two-thirds of Americans already at retirement, age 65 or older, believe they don’t have enough knowledge to adequately plan for retirement.

But let’s face it—estate planning isn’t very exciting for most people. It might be more exciting than the National Metric Week (the week in October that has the 10^th in it), but it doesn’t hold a candle to National Karaoke Week (April 15-21) or even Sports Cliché Week (the week of Major League Baseball’s All-Star game). But really, what could be more important than estate planning, and I, for one, am glad it has its own week.

Why the emphasis on estate planning? Every day, the estate planning attorneys at Morris Hall, see the benefits of good planning, and the pain caused by poor, or no, planning. Of course, planning for your death or disability is no guarantee those things won’t happen to you. Unless you’ve found the fountain of youth, we know you will face at least one of those. But planning ahead, keeping your plan up to date, and communicating your plan with your family members and loved ones can ease the pain and heartache that will accompany your death or serious illness.

While we know the benefits of good estate planning, too often we also feel the despair caused by a lack of planning. At its worst, we see families splinter and break apart, we see assets wasted and unnecessarily depleted, and we see and share in the tremendous loss to loved ones left without guidance and direction, compounded by the knowledge that planning—often simple planning—could have avoided many of these problems.

So, why not celebrate National Estate Planning Awareness Week with us? Throw a party; make some noise. Or better yet, sit down with us to learn about your estate planning options and gain more knowledge about how you can plan your estate for the protection of your loved ones. If you already have an estate plan, take this week to review it and make sure it’s up to date with the current laws and your wishes. What better way to celebrate this important week, and what better way to show your love to your family.

And next week, go have a massage in celebration of National Massage Therapy week.

About Morris Hall:

At Morris Hall, we have focused our legal practice on estate planning for over 40 years.  Along with estate planning, our attorneys help clients and their families with matters of probate, trust administration, wills, power of attorneys, business planning, succession planning, legacy planning, charitable gifting and other important legal aspects.  We also have divisions in financial, real estate and accounting to help you incorporate all of your planning together, ensuring that everything works perfectly for your needs and situation. Our Arizona offices are located in Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Tucson, Prescott, Flagstaff and Arrowhead.  Our New Mexico offices are located in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe.  Contact us today at 888.222.1328 to schedule an appointment!

This blog should be used for informational purposes only.  It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice.  If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney in your community who can assess the specifics of your situation.