We like to point out the reasons why estate planning is something that is relevant to virtually all adults regardless of their stage of life on at least some level. But there is no getting around the fact that estate planning and other elder law issues are going to become more and more relevant to you as you age.
As the years pass you see family members, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances experience some of the eventualities of aging, and it is human nature to consider the possibility that these things can happen to you someday as well. It is only prudent to recognize the possibilities and prepare for them accordingly, but at the same time you don’t want to limit yourself to the negative side of that ledger.
When you enter your sixties you may well have another three decades or more to walk the earth, and that is a long time. A lot can be accomplished during the last decades of your life, and when you get into the mode of reduced expectations with regard to what is possible you are doing yourself a tremendous disservice.
Rather than dwelling on the gloom and doom, consider the story of Bill Burke. When he was 65-years-old he attempted to climb Mount Everest. He came within 100 yards of the summit but turned back, reportedly because he was concerned that the effort it would take to complete that final step would sap him of the energy he needed to return safely. Did he quit then? No, he went back the next year but had to be evacuated from the mountain due to a case of pulmonary edema. At this point he recognized that he was too old to climb Mount Everest, right? Wrong. In March of 2009 Bill Burke became the oldest American to reach the summit at 67 years of age.
Your own goals may not include a trek up Everest, but surely you have some unfinished business to attend to, and you are never to old to take care of it.
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