Many people spend more time planning their holiday than planning their estates. This is probably because the holiday will happen sooner and because it's much more fun to plan. However, estate planning is much more important but requires more time and effort. Without a comprehensive estate plan, a significant part of the work you've done throughout your life, both at your job and with your investments, can be lost or given to unintended beneficiaries.

The purpose of estate planning is to prepare to transfer your assets to others upon your death. Estate planning allows you to specify where each of your assets goes upon your death. This involves deciding who the beneficiaries will be, what each will get, and how to perform those transfers with the minimum tax consequences, while making sure that the estate has enough liquidity to meet its obligations.