by Richard Keyt, Arizona estate planning attorney

What is Your Most Valuable Asset?

I lecture frequently on estate planning and asset protection. I always ask the audience to name their most valuable asset. People usually name something tangible like a home. Sometimes they say its stock or an investment. Rarely do people name what is truly their most valuable asset – their family and loved ones.

A lot of my law practice includes asset protection advice about how to protect tangible and intangible assets. Asset protection is why we buy insurance and form entities. This type of asset protection is important, but we cannot forget we must also protect our families and loved ones from our death or incapacity. Most people fail to protect their most valuable asset, their families and loved ones, with a comprehensive estate plan. Unfortunately over 70% of the people in the United States do not have an estate plan (a Will, a Trust and ancillary documents).

Many people will spend $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 or more for big screen plasma or LCD TV. Most of these people, however, aren't willing to spend the same amount on an estate plan to protect their family and loved ones. I have seen far too many situations where a surviving spouse and/or children suffer dire consequences following the death or incapacity of a bread winner who failed to protect his or her family. Don't leave your family unprotected if something were to happen to you. Protect your family now with a comprehensive estate plan before it is too late. With our installment payment plan, you can spread the cost over six or twelve months.

Stop Procrastinating – Take the Next Step to Protect Your Family with an Estate Plan

If you have procrastinated up to now and do not have an estate plan and if you do not take the next step right now to make an appointment with Richard Keyt to design your estate plan, the sad reality is that you will most likely continue to procrastinate for many years to come and probably will die without protecting your family. That's ok if you want the State of Arizona to decide who inherits your property and if you don't care about the problems and expense your family may suffer if you die without an estate plan in place.

Isn't your family your most valuable asset? Don't you want your family to have the protection that a good estate plan can provide? If the cost is preventing you from making an appointment, compare the cost of an estate plan against money you have spent on things for yourself such as a flat screen TV, furniture, swimming pool, computer system, hi-fi system, car or SUV, boat, country club membership, jewelry, art and other “toys” or expensive items. Don't spend more on “stuff” than you do to protect your family if something happens to you.

To learn more about Arizona estate plans read Richard Keyt's article called “Arizona Estate Plan Contents.”

Schedule Your Free Estate Planning Consultation

If like most people you have questions about Wills, Trusts and estate planning and want to learn more about how an estate plan can protect your most important asset – your family – then you should:

  • To make a free appointment go to our online scheduling calendar and book your appointment or call our legal assistant at .  The meeting usually lasts an hour.

If you have any questions about Arizona estate planning, the process, fees or anything else, call Richard C. Keyt at 480-664-7472 or his father Richard Keyt at 480-664-7478.  There is no charge for inquiries about estate planning or estate planning documents.

The Bottom Line

One final thought, acknowledge to yourself what you know to be true – your family is the most important thing in your life and you would never want them to suffer because of your procrastination or unwillingness to pay the relatively small cost to buy the protection they need and the piece of mind you need.