The short answer is that they should be doing much the same things as people who have families—except that their situation can be more complicated, so they may have to take extra steps. “Estate planning is fundamentally important for singles,” says Erin Smith, director of estate planning for Edelman Financial Engines.
In particular, you need to draft a durable power of attorney naming someone as “attorney-in-fact” to make financial decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated, and you should appoint a health care proxy to handle medical decisions.
If you die without a will, state law determines how your assets will be distributed. But, says Smith, “no state has a statutory list of people to make financial decisions for you.”
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