While there are some people who believe that incurring personal debt is a normal occurrence, there are millions of young consumers who want to avoid going into debt at all costs. People who participate on social media websites often discuss the perils of getting into large amounts of debt: whether the cause is school loans or a home mortgage, it is important to have a sense of how much debt you are willing to incur. Recent studies show that most Americans do not have enough ready cash to last three months: in case of an unplanned emergency, what would you do?
Wills and estate lawyers recommend that everyone over the age of 21 make a will. There are simple wills available online, and it is important that you decide who will administer your estate in the event of an emergency. Clients are also encouraged to commit their health care preferences to paper: do you want to be resuscitated in a life or death situation? Once you have your will and estate planning paperwork in order, you should take stock of your debts as part of a yearly “life review.” There are debt collection lawyers who can work with you to resolve old debt: many young adults do not realize that poor decisions can wreck their credit for decades. Debt collection lawyers can assist you in communicating with companies — or with clients — and can assist in maintaining positive relationships.
If you run your own business, you will eventually need to collect a debt from a customer. Debt collection lawyers understand that collecting a debt from a customer can be a delicate process, but if unpaid client debts are putting your business in the red, you can talk to debt collection lawyers about modifying your approach. You should always have a clear successor in mind — and on paper — for your business. You should leave passwords and numeric bank codes with a third party, or in a place that would be easily accessible in the event of an accident.
You need to make sure that someone outside of the business has access to your client list and to all important information. In the event of an emergency, again, you need to have a Plan B to keep your business up and running. In general, you should have a joint list of all internet passwords and PINs for yourself and your spouse or business partner. All parties involved should always know where safety deposit box keys are kept, where extra keys to company vehicles are kept, and who to contact in the event of an accident or emergency.
You should make sure that you have a list of contact phone numbers at hand, insurance paperwork, and safe combinations: too often, resources can be misplaced or mishandled if the correct people do not have access to important information. Nobody wants to fill out wills and real estate paperwork, do they? But passing away and leaving an estate without an administrator or clear heir can cause years of headaches for remaining family members. Take the time to fill out all the necessary paperwork with your local real estate lawyer before anything untoward would occur: you’ll be glad that you did.
