Jill on Money Radio Show: Your Money Questions Answered

Well, the election is over, but it’s not, but it really is. Got it? That’s about all I’m going to say on the subject. That said, for a variety or reasons, it was a pretty wild week on Wall Street.

For the average investor out there, as I like to say, keep calm and carry on! We talk about it a little bit as we start the show and then it’s on to your emails and calls.

One of the booming industries during the pandemic has been estate planning.

Michael Jackson, Prince, Aretha Franklin, these three amazing and wildly successful musicians did not have a will. How could that be, you ask? Don’t they have agents, lawyers and accountants? Didn’t they know at some point they were going to die? “That’s irresponsible,” you say, but welcome to the real world, where even famous people can’t seem to get their acts together to address this difficult topic head on.

Only 42 percent of U.S. adults currently have estate planning documents, including a will. Shockingly, for those with children under the age of 18, the figure is even lower, with just 36 percent having an end-of-life plan in place. Of those who have not done any estate planning, 47 percent said, “I just haven’t gotten around to it.”

I get it, contemplating one’s death is not exactly high on anybody’s to-do list, but it is important that you overcome the anxieties associated with this emotional topic and take control.

So that’s why today we’re doing an estate planning bootcamp with Russell Fishkind, an attorney with Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr.

Have a money question? Email me here.

"Jill on Money" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com.