No matter how old or young you are you should have some kind of estate planning in place. A collegue in Florida accounts a recent encounter with a young couple who did not plan.  The couple was young and a second marriage, and had a young child.  The two of them executed identical wills and then the wife died a month later. While the couple did do some planning, the wife failed to change beneficiary on a retirement account from ex-husband to her new husband or child. As a result, it was the ex husband, not the child or new spouse, who was beneficiary of her retirement.  When you have children and assets involved no matter your age you should consult an estate planning attorney, so that they make sure your estate plan plays out the way you intended. See here for the complete story.