All employees in the US are entitled to certain benefits: social security, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation insurance. However, sadly not enough Americans are aware of estate planning and its importance. This is especially concerning, given the fact that we are all still living with the consequences of COVID-19 but slowly migrating to a post-pandemic world. Not having the necessary documentation in place leaves assets under the control of the state, which is a worrying trend that could become increasingly common if people don't start preparing correctly.

Renee Fry is co-founder and CEO of Gentreo, an online software provider with a mission to provide affordable, accessible and easy-to-use estate planning tools for everyone. Gentreo makes it simple for families to create, save and share their estate family plan so they can sleep at night. 

While there has been a slight increase in the number of people who have some kind of will or estate planning document, the overall statistics have been down in recent years (33% in 2021 compared to 42% in 2017). Yet, 33% of one survey's respondents said that COVID caused a greater need for an estate plan, but 31% of those who saw a greater need didn't do anything about it.