Like everyone else, we certainly have had our share of personal and professional challenges, while navigating this unprecedented period of our lives, during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The silver lining for us, which may be unique to our practice area, is that many folks confronted with their own mortality and that of their loved ones (and lots of extra time on their hands) are now realizing that the time to focus on estate planning is before there is a real crisis for them.   Previously, this would regularly happen in isolated instances, when a family member or peer would die suddenly or prematurely. Now, we are all simultaneously having the opportunity for this important and motivating epiphany.

Americans are woefully under estate planned. For that to change, it would probably help to have a catchy promotional ad campaign, like the dairy industry’s “Got Milk?” campaign of yore (perhaps, “Got wills?”) strewn across billboards around the country and on radio and TV ads as a public service announcement. The stark realities of the COVID-19 crisis appear to be serving as a decent “Plan B” to help accomplish the same result.