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“Everybody has an estate plan. It is not just for the wealthy. Your clothing, your furniture, your jewelry, your real estate, your automobiles, your electronics, your bank accounts -- all of that is a part of your estate plan,” Richardson said. “And with proper planning, we can ensure that our loved ones can live the lives that we see for them even when we are not here.”

So how should people get started with estate planning? Experts recommend discussing the topic with family members and Portia M. Wood, an estate planning lawyer, suggests asking yourself these three questions too.

  1. What is your family structure?
  2. What is the value of your assets?
  3. What are you trying to achieve?
\"PHOTO:
ABC News
PHOTO: Estate lawyer Portia Wood speaks with ABC News.
>

In addition, Wood recommends preparing these documents in order to ensure the estate planning process goes smoothly: a financial power of attorney form, an advance health care directive and a living will.

Richardson also recommends that everyone should consider life insurance policies. “GoFundMe is not a substitute for life insurance. As early as the age of 18, if you have enough life insurance, you can then put that life insurance into an annuity. That annuity can then pay your heirs a trust for the rest of their lives and then that income can pass onto their children and so on and so forth,” Richardson said.

At the end of the day, Richardson emphasized, “Time is of the essence and every single one of us has the ability to create an estate plan for ourselves and our loved ones so we can have peace at night when we go to sleep.”

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