Published March 4, 2026
When her father died, a friend of mine was left to untangle an estate that included about ten income-producing properties and no plan. What should have been a period of mourning became a long, exhausting administrative slog. She and her father had been close, but by the end of the process she resented him and questioned whether he had truly cared about her.
A lot of people avoid estate planning because it costs money and takes time. Hiring an attorney, making decisions, gathering information, and getting everything in order is expensive, tedious, and easy to postpone.
But avoiding that work does not make it disappear. It just changes who has to do it.
The money still gets spent. The time still gets spent (usually more of it!). The paperwork still has to be found. The decisions still have to be made. The difference is that, without a plan, that burden lands on the people you leave behind. They have to sort through practical, financial, and logistical problems while grieving.
Skipping estate planning may save you time and money now. But there is a good chance your loved ones will pay for that choice later, and in ways that are harder, more stressful, more expensive.
And sometimes the cost is not only financial or logistical. Sometimes it changes how you are remembered.
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