Who Needs Estate Planning? Essential Guide for All

Who actually benefits from estate planning, who can skip it, and how to tell which category you’re in.

The honest answer to “who needs estate planning” isn’t “everyone.” It’s “people in specific situations.” A 25-year-old renter with no dependents, no real estate, and no significant savings doesn’t have an urgent estate planning need. A 25-year-old who just bought a house with their spouse and is expecting their first child does. The question isn’t age. It’s what you own, who depends on you, and what you want to happen if things go wrong.

Most people who actually need estate planning know they need it. They’ve thought about what happens to the house, the kids, the retirement accounts. What stops them isn’t lack of awareness. It’s not knowing where to start, or assuming it has to be more complicated than it actually is. This post is for the people who are pretty sure they need a plan and want to confirm before scheduling a conversation.

After 27 years and 5,423 trusts drafted at The Eastman Law Firm serving Leawood, Overland Park, and Lenexa, we’ve worked through the “do I need this?” question with families across every life stage. Here’s how to tell.

The Triggers That Indicate You Need Estate Planning

Several specific situations move a person from “could benefit from planning” to “should have planning in place now.” If any of these apply to you, estate planning is worth having.

You own real estate. A home, rental property, vacation property, or vacant land. Real estate makes probate involvement very likely if you die without trust-based planning. Even unwanted property creates probate complications.

You have minor children. A will is the document that nominates guardians for minor children. Without it, the court decides who raises your kids if both parents are gone. The court usually honors a nomination if it’s clear, so getting your choice into a signed document is essential.

You’re married. Married couples benefit from coordinated planning. Spousal beneficiary rights, joint titling, and tax planning between spouses all benefit from being deliberate rather than default.

You’re remarried with children from a prior marriage. Blended families have the highest stakes around estate planning because the default outcomes (intestate succession, joint tenancy) often distribute assets in ways neither spouse intends. The new spouse may inherit assets that the original spouse wanted going to the children.

You have significant retirement accounts. 401(k)s, IRAs, Roth IRAs, and similar accounts pass by beneficiary designation. Whether the designation matches the rest of your plan determines whether the money ends up where you want.

You own a business. Business interests need succession planning. What happens to the LLC, the partnership, the S-corp stock when you die? Without planning, the business may be forced into liquidation, sold under duress, or end up in court while operations stall.

You have a beneficiary who needs protection. A child with special needs, a beneficiary with addiction issues, a beneficiary with creditor problems, or a beneficiary in a marriage you’re not confident in. Outright inheritance to a vulnerable beneficiary often doesn’t end well.

You have specific wishes about who shouldn’t inherit. If you want to disinherit a family member, leave assets unequally, or condition inheritances on specific events, documents are the only way to make those wishes legally effective.

You’re worried about incapacity. Estate planning isn’t only about death. Powers of attorney handle incapacity, which can happen at any age. A 35-year-old in a serious car accident needs functional powers of attorney as much as an 85-year-old with dementia does.

The Situations Where Estate Planning Is Less Urgent

Some situations don’t have the same urgency. If most of these describe you, estate planning may still be valuable but isn’t immediately necessary:

• You’re young, single, and have no dependents
• You rent rather than own real estate
• Your only significant assets are accounts with beneficiary designations (retirement accounts, life insurance) and small bank accounts
• Your inheritance preferences are simple and predictable (everything to one person or split evenly among siblings)
• You’re comfortable with what Kansas intestate succession law would produce if you died without a plan

Even in these situations, basic incapacity documents (financial and medical powers of attorney, HIPAA authorization) are valuable inexpensive insurance. A 25-year-old in good health may not need a trust, but if they end up in the hospital after an accident, having someone authorized to make medical decisions and pay bills matters.

Estate Planning by Life Stage

Different life stages typically benefit from different scopes of planning.

Young adults (18 to 30). Basic incapacity documents (financial and medical powers of attorney, HIPAA authorization) are usually the right starting point. A simple will if there are any assets worth directing. Comprehensive estate planning is usually premature unless real estate, significant savings, or dependents are already in the picture.

Young families (25 to 40). Estate planning becomes more meaningful. A will to nominate guardians and direct asset distribution. Powers of attorney for incapacity planning. A revocable living trust if there’s real estate, significant assets, or specific control concerns about how children would inherit. Coordinated beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance.

Established families and homeowners (40 to 60). The full set of foundational documents. Often a trust-centered plan to avoid probate, plan for incapacity, and control how adult children inherit. Coordinated planning around retirement accounts, business interests, and accumulated wealth.

Pre-retirees and retirees (60+). Estate planning often shifts focus toward asset preservation, Medicaid planning for potential long-term care needs, tax-advantaged trust structures if estates are large enough, and clear succession planning for any business or income-producing assets. Periodic review of existing plans becomes important.

Specific high-stakes situations (any age). Blended families, special needs beneficiaries, business owners, families with vulnerable beneficiaries, and people facing health changes all benefit from earlier and more comprehensive planning than their age alone would suggest.

Common Reasons People Skip Estate Planning

Most people who need estate planning know they need it. What stops them usually comes down to a few recurring patterns:

“I don’t know where to start.” This is the most common one. The 15-minute call exists exactly for this reason. A short conversation sorts out what your situation calls for and what the next step is.

“I assume it’s expensive.” Cost varies, but basic estate planning is usually less expensive than people expect. A simple will plus powers of attorney for a single individual or couple is typically in the low thousands. A trust-based plan runs more. We tell you the cost before any drafting begins, and you can decide whether it fits your budget.

“I’m too young.” Age is often not the right framing. The right question is whether you have anything to protect or anyone who depends on you. A 28-year-old homeowner with a young child has more to plan for than a 65-year-old renter with no dependents.

“My family will figure it out.” They will, but the figuring out involves probate court, intestate succession law, legal fees, time delays, and sometimes family disputes. Without a plan, you’re letting the default outcomes apply to your situation.

“I’m not ready to think about it.” Understandable. The conversation doesn’t have to be about death. It can be about minor children, about real estate, about the LLC you started last year. The documents handle the harder scenarios, but the planning conversation can stay practical.

How to Tell If You’re in the “Plan Now” Group

Three questions cover most of what determines whether you need estate planning now:

1. Do you own real estate? If yes, you almost certainly benefit from estate planning. Real estate triggers probate involvement without trust-based planning or transfer-on-death deeds.

2. Does anyone depend on you financially or rely on your decisions? Minor children, vulnerable adult dependents, or anyone whose financial security or care depends on you. If yes, estate planning is essential.

3. Do you have specific wishes that wouldn’t happen by default? Specific beneficiary preferences, business succession plans, charitable giving goals, or wishes about medical care during incapacity. If yes, the documents capture those wishes in a form that’s legally enforceable.

If you answered yes to any of these, the next step is sorting out what kind of plan fits your situation. For more on the foundational question of what estate planning involves, see our complete guide to estate planning.

What If You’re Not Sure

Plenty of people are in the middle: not obviously in the “you need this now” group but not clearly in the “you can skip it” group either. The 15-minute call is for these situations specifically. Gary can usually tell within a short conversation whether your situation calls for action now, whether you should revisit it in a few years, or whether something between (just powers of attorney, just a simple will) would handle what you actually need. Our complete estate planning work scales from simple to comprehensive depending on what you need.

What the Free Call Is For

The 15-minute call sorts out which group you’re in. You describe your situation: assets, family, concerns. Gary asks a few questions and tells you what he thinks. Sometimes the answer is yes, plan now, and here’s what fits. Sometimes the answer is yes but the scope is narrower than you might have thought. Sometimes the answer is that you don’t need much yet and we can revisit when your situation changes.

By the end of the call, you’ll know more about your situation than you did when you picked up the phone. Whether you hire us or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

At what age should you start estate planning?

The right age is whenever you have something to protect or someone who depends on you. For some people that’s 25 (homeowners, parents, business owners). For others it’s later. Basic incapacity documents (financial and medical powers of attorney, HIPAA authorization) are valuable at almost any adult age, including for young adults in good health, because incapacity from accident or sudden illness can happen unexpectedly. Comprehensive estate planning becomes more pressing as you accumulate assets, dependents, or specific wishes about how things should go. The common assumption that estate planning is something you do at 60 or 70 misses the point: planning matters when you have something to plan for, not when you reach a particular age.

Should a 27 year old have a will?

It depends on what the 27-year-old owns and who depends on them. A 27-year-old who rents, has no children, and has no significant assets beyond a retirement account with beneficiary designations doesn’t urgently need a will. The retirement account passes by designation. The basic incapacity documents (financial and medical powers of attorney) are usually more valuable at this stage than a will. A 27-year-old who owns a home, has a child, has a spouse, or has significant assets beyond beneficiary-designated accounts has reason to have a will. The question isn’t really about age. It’s about what you own and who depends on you. For the 27-year-old who’s home-bound, has dependents, or has specific wishes, the documents are worth having now rather than later.

What is the best will for a single person?

For a single adult without dependents, the simpler the better. A straightforward will that names an executor, directs distribution of assets to chosen beneficiaries (siblings, parents, friends, charity), and addresses any specific personal property is usually sufficient. The will should be coordinated with beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance, which often pass directly to named beneficiaries rather than under the will. Powers of attorney become especially important for single adults because there’s no spouse to step in during incapacity; choosing trusted people to make financial and medical decisions matters more when you can’t rely on a default decision-maker. For a single adult with significant assets or specific complex wishes, a trust-based plan may also fit, but for many single people without dependents, a simple will plus powers of attorney handles the essential planning.

How much money does an estate have to have to go to probate?

In Kansas, estates valued at $75,000 or less may qualify for simplified procedures including the small estate affidavit under K.S.A. 59-1507b, which lets heirs claim assets without formal probate. Estates above that threshold typically require formal probate administration, though there are exceptions for assets that pass by beneficiary designation, joint ownership, or trust. The $75,000 threshold counts the deceased’s individually-owned probate assets, not the entire estate. A house with $200,000 of equity owned solely in the deceased’s name would trigger probate regardless of other assets that pass outside probate. The Kansas threshold is one of the more generous in the country; many states have lower thresholds or different procedures.

What is the biggest mistake with wills?

The most common mistake is not signing the will (or not signing it properly). A will that exists in draft form but was never executed isn’t valid. Beyond that, mistakes include outdated wills that no longer reflect current family or financial circumstances, wills with ambiguous language that creates interpretation disputes, wills that don’t coordinate with beneficiary designations on retirement accounts or life insurance, wills that name an executor who’s no longer the right person (deceased, geographically distant, no longer trusted), and DIY wills with execution errors that make them unenforceable under state law. Less common but also significant: wills that try to dispose of assets the testator doesn’t actually own, wills that assume tax law that no longer applies, and wills that name guardians for children without coordinating with the children’s other parent or family. Most of these are preventable with periodic review.