There’s no age you have to hit first and no minimum amount of money you need to have. If you’re an adult with anyone who depends on you, or anything you’d want handled a certain way if you couldn’t speak for yourself, an estate plan already applies to you—getting married, having a child, buying a home, starting a business, or becoming responsible for an aging parent.
This trips people up because “estate planning” sounds like something for retirees with large portfolios. In reality, the documents involved — a will, a power of attorney, sometimes a trust — matter just as much to a 28-year-old with a new baby as they do to a 68-year-old thinking about retirement. The confusion isn’t really about age. It’s about which life events actually create urgency, and which ones don’t.
Below is the short answer, then a closer look at the specific milestones that should push you to act, what changes for Germantown and Shelby County families specifically, and how to tell if you’re already overdue.
The Short Version: There’s No “Right Age” for an Estate Plan
Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 32-1-102, any person of sound mind who is 18 or older can legally make a will — so the legal window opens the day you become an adult. Most people don’t need a full estate plan at 18, but the moment your life gets more complicated than “I own a car and rent an apartment,” the calculus changes. A complete plan usually includes:
- A will, naming who inherits your property and, if you have young children, who would raise them
- A durable power of attorney, naming someone to handle your finances if you can’t
- A healthcare power of attorney, naming someone to make medical decisions on your behalf
- A trust, which can help property pass to your family without going through probate court
You don’t need all of these on day one. What you need is to recognize the moments when putting them off stops being harmless.
Certain Life Events Make an Estate Plan Urgent
Turning 18 and Becoming Legally Independent
Once your child turns 18, you — as their parent — lose the automatic legal authority to make medical or financial decisions for them, even in an emergency. A young adult heading to college or starting their first job benefits from a simple healthcare power of attorney and a HIPAA authorization, so parents can still get information and help if something happens. This is one of the most overlooked estate planning moments because it doesn’t feel like “estate planning” at all.
Getting Married
Marriage changes how Tennessee law treats your property and who inherits it if you die without a will. A will lets you make sure your spouse (and not a formula written into state law) decides what they’ll actually receive. It’s also the point where many couples first put powers of attorney in place for each other.
Having a Child
If you have a minor child and no will, a Tennessee court — not you — decides who raises them if something happens to both parents. A will lets you name a guardian directly. This single reason is why most family law and estate planning attorneys consider “having a child” the single biggest trigger for getting a will in place, regardless of how young or financially simple the parents’ situation is.
Buying a Home or Other Real Estate
Real property is one of the main reasons estates end up in Shelby County Probate Court. Once you own a home, your family has a specific, valuable asset that needs a clear path to the right person — whether that’s through a will or, for some families, a trust designed to avoid probate on that property.
Starting or Growing a Business
If you own a business, your estate plan needs to answer a question a personal will often doesn’t: what happens to the business itself if you’re gone or incapacitated? Buy-sell agreements, business succession planning, and a durable power of attorney that specifically covers business decisions all become relevant here.
Becoming a Caregiver for an Aging Parent
If you’re stepping into a caregiving role for a parent, it’s worth confirming they have their own power of attorney and healthcare directive in place — not just talking about your own plan. Without one, a family may need to petition for a conservatorship, a court process governed by Tennessee Code Annotated Title 34, Chapter 3, which is slower, more expensive, and more public than a properly executed power of attorney signed while your parent still has capacity.
A Full Estate Plan Can Wait a Little, But Some Documents Shouldn’t
Not every document needs to happen the same year. A single 25-year-old renting an apartment with no kids and modest savings doesn’t need a trust or a business succession plan. But even that person benefits from a durable power of attorney under Tennessee’s Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, T.C.A. § 34-6-102, so that if they’re in an accident, someone they trust — not a court-appointed conservator — can step in to pay bills and talk to doctors.
The documents that protect you while you’re alive (powers of attorney) tend to matter earlier and more urgently than the documents that control what happens after you die (wills and trusts). If you only have time or budget for one thing right now, a power of attorney is usually the more time-sensitive gap to close first.
How This Fits Into a Full Plan for Germantown Families
Estate planning isn’t a single document — it’s a small set of documents that work together, and what each one actually does depends on your situation. A will handles who inherits your property and who raises your minor children. A power of attorney covers decision-making while you’re alive but unable to act. A trust can help certain property skip probate entirely. For married couples, a lot of this planning happens jointly — we’ve written separately about estate planning for married couples in Germantown if that’s the stage you’re at.
If you wait until after a major life event to act, Tennessee’s default rules take over in the meantime. Property you own passes according to the state’s intestate (meaning passing away without a will) succession laws rather than your own wishes, and any dispute or complication runs through Shelby County Probate Court — a process we regularly help local families navigate, but one that’s easier to avoid than to fix after the fact.
Signs You’re Already Overdue
- You’ve had a child, gotten married, divorced, or lost a spouse since your last (or only) estate planning document was signed
- You don’t have a healthcare power of attorney, and you’re over 18
- You own a home, business, or retirement account and have no will
- You’re a caregiver for a parent who doesn’t have their own power of attorney in place
- Your named executor, guardian, or agent has died, moved away, or is no longer someone you’d choose today
If two or more of these apply, that’s less a suggestion and more a deadline you’ve already passed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, if you have minor children or want to name who makes decisions for you if you’re incapacitated. Homeownership raises the stakes, but it isn’t what creates the need in the first place — having people who depend on you does.
No. An 18-year-old with no dependents and few assets may not need a full estate plan, but they can still benefit from a healthcare power of attorney, especially if they’re moving away for school or work and their parents would otherwise have no legal authority to help in an emergency.
Review it after any major life event — marriage, divorce, a new child, a death in the family, or a significant change in what you own — and otherwise every three to five years, since beneficiary designations and family circumstances shift even without a single dramatic event.
Your property passes under the state’s intestate succession law rather than your own wishes, and your family is more likely to need full probate administration. A surviving spouse and children inherit according to a fixed formula that may not match what you would have chosen.
The Right Time Is Now, Not After the Milestone Passes
Most people wait for a “someday” that estate planning attorneys rarely see arrive on its own — it usually takes a scare, a diagnosis, or a loss to finally prompt the call. If you’ve already checked off one of the life events above, the honest answer is that the right time was a little while ago. The next best time is now. If you’d like to talk through what your situation actually needs, schedule a free consultation and we’ll walk through it together.