Special Considerations for Women When Estate Planning

American women live on average 4.8 years longer than American men.Because women typically outlive their spouses, their estate planning documents are usually the ones that actually determine what happens to the family assets. However, the longer life span of women also means that women are more likely to experience a period of time at the end of their lives when they are unable to make their own decisions because they are incapacitated due to some medical condition.

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Is Estate Planning More Important for Women?

 

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Let’s start by acknowledging that estate planning is incredibly important for every adult person in America.  No matter what level of wealth, or lack thereof, and no matter what your gender, marital status, or age, if you are an American over the age of 18, you should have at least basic estate planning in place.  By “basic estate planning” I simply mean the collection of documents that establish what will happen to you, your family, and the things you own if you become unable to make your own decisions (“incapacitated”) or upon your death.

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