Wills and Estate Planning: Six Must-Haves in your Estate Plan

Over the next three decades, American retirees will transfer a staggering $84.4 trillion in wealth to their loved ones and charities when they die. However, only 24% of Americans have a will in 2025, down from 33% in 2022, according to Caring.com.

Estate planning lawyers see the disconnect between a lack of preparedness and how grieving families face expensive legal battles and broken relationships.

"It's almost like a superstition that people have that if they start talking about their estate planning documents, they're going to get that terminal illness, because they've spoken it into existence," said Michael Zahrt, a business and estate planning attorney with Foster Swift Collins and Smith in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Mike Zahrt was interviewed and featured in an article for Quartz magazine about the six must-haves for every estate plan. See the full article here: Wills and estate planning: 6 documents you must have