A self-care resolution: estate planning in 2024
Ahh, a new year. New resolutions. How many Americans set a resolution to get their estate planning done in 2024?
Probably none. Let’s talk about that.
Common 2024 resolutions
Forbes Health published this article about the top New Year’s resolutions people have for 2024.
It’s what you probably expect. Almost half the people polled said they wanted to work on getting fit this year. About a third said they’d like to lose some excess weight or just eat better. A little over a third also said they’d like to work on their financial situation.
I must say I’m pleasantly surprised that prioritizing mental health made it into the top five most common resolutions.
Perhaps you are part of the population that doesn’t keep a resolution. After all, the Forbes poll found that most resolutions don’t make it much past the first quarter of the year anyway.
Personally, I use the new year as a time to reflect on what I was able to accomplish the previous year. I try to view it as an opportunity not to set a goal, but rather an opportunity to review patterns and habits. New year’s is the time I consciously decide to interrupt less helpful patterns and try something new.
How about you? Is estate planning on your to-do list this year? If it isn’t, it should be.
Estate planning is not just caring for loved ones, it is self-care
The sentiment that estate planning is a loving, caring act for your loved ones is a common one. And it is true. Getting your affairs in order - especially if you have minor children or if you have an adverse health condition - truly is an act of love.
But really, to me, it is an act of self-care.
Try to imagine your future self, the one who hopefully has lived a long, healthy, and full life. Try to imagine what you want, what scares you. It’s not easy, I know.
Now try to imagine someone else doing that FOR you.
Changes your perspective, doesn’t it? We ourselves often have a difficult time saying what it is we truly want and what we truly want to avoid.
Self-care, like anything else in life, has its “easy” level and its more “advanced” level. You can take a day off to go to a spa, relax with music or a movie, or play a round of golf. Self-care is also about those common resolutions above – setting and maintaining healthy habits. They’re not easy, but they’re so good for you.
Estate planning is that more advanced form of self-care.
If you didn’t have a resolution for 2024 I hope you at least consider estate planning as something more than obscure paperwork that needs signed. It’s about the you of now thinking and caring about the you of tomorrow.