Each of our five estate planning partners has over 20 years of experience in estate planning. One of the more frustrating parts of trying to help people with estate planning is the strong inertia of many people who know they need estate planning, but because of certain conflicts, uncertainties or concerns, cannot quite get the estate planning process started. Through our experience, we have found that talking about those problems (which we label as "best excuses") can help the client realize that doing something is almost always better than doing nothing, no matter what the excuse.

We thought it appropriate to share our experiences in this regard, and thus present what we have found to be the eight best excuses clients give for not doing their estate planning, and what we find to be very good answers to those best excuses.

1.	Excuse: I've just been too busy, but as soon as I have more time, I will get something done. Reply: Like most things, you have to make time for matters that are important. Letting yourself be too busy is simply a convenient excuse to put off something you think you will always be able to do later. Unfortunately, car accidents, strokes and other unexpected tragic events in our lives do not let us put off indefinitely this type of planning.
2.	Excuse: I don't really know what I would want to do for an estate plan. Reply: You already have an "estate plan." Even if you don't know what you want to do for your estate planning, the state you live in has decided where your property goes if you do nothing. Anyone who dies without a will or other estate planning document is governed by state statutes. Those statutes direct who is to receive your property and when. If the statutes pick the wrong person, or the wrong assets that a person should receive, or the age at which they should receive those assets, then your desire and the state's plan will not be the same.
3.	Excuse: It will cost too much. Reply: Not doing anything can cost you even more. For example, you may be able to avoid or reduce estate taxes which can be as high as $.55 on the dollar. Basic tax planning can often save hundreds of thousands of dollars in estate taxes. Also, many times you can avoid probate administration fees and delays. Those fees are based on statutory schedules that can cause a $1,000,000 estate in California to be subject to $20,000 or more of attorney fees and another $20,000 of executor fees. The minimum time to probate an estate is usually six months.
4.	Excuse: I don't like having to think about my death. Reply: One of the primary reasons for estate planning is to make appropriate provisions for your family in the event of your death. The focus is on planning to help protect their interests. Having completed your estate planning does not mean you are going to die any sooner than you would have otherwise, but it does give you the peace of mind to know you have taken care of providing for your family's needs if you do.
5.	Excuse: I'm not comfortable having to talk about my personal financial situation and family matters with a lawyer. Reply: Your lawyer treats anything he or she learns about you as confidential and acts only for your best interest. It makes as little sense to avoid seeing a lawyer to keep your financial situation private as it does to avoid seeing a doctor to keep your health situation private. Ultimately, that strategy is going to backfire.
6.	Excuse: I don't own enough assets to make it important to do. Reply: No matter how small an estate you may have, usually there are reasons why having a will or trust in place for the disposition of your property is better than having no will or trust at all. For example, if you have minor children, you need to think about nominating a guardian to take care of those children if there isn't a surviving parent. There are numerous other issues like these that should be addressed, even for someone with a small estate.
7.	Excuse: My spouse and I do not agree on what we should do. Reply: If you do not agree and do nothing because of that disagreement, then your spouse will be able to control everything if you die first. With a will or trust, you can at least make decisions to control your one-half of the community property and all of your separate property.
8.	Excuse: I do not know who to name (or cannot decide who to name) as trustee, or executor, or guardian of my children. Reply: If you do not name them, then state law will name them for you, by establishing a priority for who may act in those roles, and they may be just the people you want to avoid receiving those powers.

Our "best excuses" are certainly not the only ones clients use. But they are a good sampling. If one or more of them fits your situation, we hope you find our answers the extra push needed to get you started in taking care of your personal planning situation.