“Yes, you heard us right. Millennials do need to start thinking about their estate plans now. It has nothing to do with the fact that they have several decades to go before they actually get to the retirement stage.”

According to a caring.com study, the percentage of 18 to 36-year-old Americans with a planned will or trust is just 22%.

This was reported by Financial Buzz in “Millennials: Start thinking about estate planning now!” Compare this finding with the staggering 81% of Americans age 72 and older who have a will or trust, and you can easily determine which generation is planning to make sure that their assets are distributed properly after their lifetime.

If we look at the next age bracket—53 to 71—there’s a significant drop in the number of people who have worked up a formal estate plan.

That number is 60%.

For those in the 37 to 52 age group, the percentage of those who’ve planned drops to only 36%.

Overall, this research shows that Americans really need to get on the stick and do some estate planning. They also need to start doing it earlier in life.

The respondents gave two reasons for failing to do their estate planning. One is they felt they didn’t have enough assets to warrant drafting a will or doing other estate planning. The other was one of the most historically popular: they felt they had time to get around to it.

I’m sure you realize that life is unpredictable. That’s just the reason why you need to start your estate planning ASAP. This eliminates any questions about what happens to your assets and how your dependents will be taken care of.

It’s vitally important, especially for those with a young, dependent family. Create your will as soon as possible—don’t keep putting it off.

Reference: Financial Buzz (March 3, 2017) “Millennials: Start thinking about estate planning now!”