Ask anyone you know the kind of person that would need to be concerned with estate planning, and 90% would describe the well-to-do retiree who has spent the last 40 years of life building up substantial wealth.

But what about the other end of the spectrum? Picture a young, newly-married couple that just had their first child. Both parents have stable jobs and a nice starter home. They put away a little money each month if they’re lucky just in case something bad happens, and they try to contribute a little bit to a retirement account on a regular basis. After all that and paying the mortgage, there isn’t much left for extras, but they’re happy, healthy and excited at the direction life will take them.

Estate planning probably couldn’t be further from this couple’s mind. After all, what estate do they have that needs planning?

Too often, young parents put off estate planning because of this misconception and probably just as likely because of the thought that with long lives ahead of them there will be time for those sorts of things in the future. After all, estate planning ultimately contemplates death which is not something that a vibrant and healthy 30 year-old wants to think about. But, no matter how morbid or uncomfortable the thought may be, the reality is that none of us can predict when death is going to knock on the door.