So, here are some helpful tips for you, if you are an entrepreneur or a person with ADHD and need to do some estate planning (or any type of decision making for that matter):
• Write it down: Writing your goal and your scenario down requires you to think through the process. Remember, if it is not in writing, it does not exist (at least as far as the probate court is concerned).
• Make snap decisions: In times of crisis, it is better to do something, even if it not the optimal thing, than to do nothing.
• Have a dictator: Find someone to whom you declare your goals and objectives. Give them the right to impose firm standards from the outside.
• Record what you have learned: When you do get something done, record it and learn from it, good or bad.
• Set a public deadline: I have a paralegal whose job it is to start prodding clients well before the deadline so that they get things done.
• Change your perspective: Estate planning is not about dying, it is about living—how you want to live the rest of your life.
So, if you are a fox and you find the hedgehog estate planning process does not work for you, do not despair: there is a process for you. If you are suffering from analysis paralysis, then get a fox to help make a snap decision and see what you learn. If you are making impulsive decisions, find your hedgehog dictator and have them slow down your impulses. Finally, always remember, doing something is always better than doing nothing.
Matthew Erskine is managing partner at Erskine & Erskine.