Prince's death highlights an important point about estate planning by Kathleen Elkins on Apr 28, 2016, 3:34 PM Advertisement
 A judge recently confirmed that Prince did not have a will at the time of his death. That could mean a potentially "messy" future for the musician's $250 million estate. Sure, most of us do not have a net worth valued at $250 million — but estate planning isn't just important for Prince and other high earners. "Everybody, when you get to a certain point in your life, should have an estate plan," emphasizes David T. DuFault, estate planning and business law attorney at Sodoma Law. In his experience working with clients, "A lot of people are unprepared. Either they don't have a plan, or they have a plan, but haven't looked at it in 20 years." To help you get started, we've highlighted a few important things to know about drafting a will and creating an estate plan. Mandi Woodruff contributed to this article. SEE ALSO: Kanye West says he's $53 million in debt — here's how he can get out of it  There isn't one set time to start estate planning "Your situation is going to affect when you start estate planning," DuFault says. Typically, there are "trigger events" — big life events such as getting married, having kids, and buying a first home — that signal it's time to start putting together an estate plan. "A 24-year-old right out of college who's not married may not be as pressed to start as a 30-year-old that has a house, 401(k), and a child on the way," DuFault explains. That being said, people in their 20s and early 30s go through plenty of life changes that deem it important to start creating a will early in life. It's never too early to start thinking about who you would leave your assets to if you were to pass away.
It's easier to set up a will than ever before RocketLawyer and LegalZoom are just two of several sites that offer will-making services at affordable rates. They work much like software like TurboTax, which hits you with a host of "interview-like" questions. Unless your assets are incredibly complicated, you can draft a will in about 10-15 minutes, RocketLawyer founder Charley Moore tells Business Insider.
 You have to make your will legal Once you've got your will drafted and signed, you've got one last step to take: making it legal. This varies state by state, but generally you'll need to have at least two witnesses sign the document. Once you have all signatures needed, scan the document back into your computer for safe keeping and also keep a hard copy on file, Moore advises.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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