There’s an adage that goes, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”When it comes to estate planning, this doesn’t necessarily apply — at least, it doesn’t have to, according to Jack P. Stewart, one of the area’s only certified elder law attorneys. “We do encourage a meeting ahead of time so people aren’t trying to do everything at the last minute … but contrary to belief, even though they didn't do any planning and they're coming to see me at the last minute, a big myth out there is people sometimes feel there's nothing they can do to save money or save their assets, and there are things they can do. There's a lot they can do,” he said.Stewart, who operates his own law and tax practice in Ontario, said estate planning typically involves drafting living wills, healthcare powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, trusts and deeds.He offers consultations to help people understand the various legal documents associated with estate planning.“A lot of people, I guess you’d call it a myth, when they come in they think estate planning means I just need a will,” he said.Unbeknownst to many is the need for a healthcare power of attorney and financial power of attorney, he said.A healthcare power of attorney allows you to appoint someone to make crucial healthcare decisions in the event you are unable to do so, whereas a financial power of attorney grants someone legal authority to act on your behalf for financial issues.“People get those two confused all the time,” Stewart said.The difference between a will and a trust can also cause some head-scratching.“A last will and testament is a document basically that states who gets your property when you pass away,” he explained. “Sometimes people feel they don't need a will because they're married or something like that.“They don't realize sometimes a will can help for other reasons.”He noted that it’s much easier to administer your estate if you have a will and that the process is slower and more expensive if you don’t have one when you die.“A trust is a vehicle where you're giving your assets to someone, a trustee … and that person takes care of the assets for the benefit of a beneficiary," he said. "Now, a lot of people do a trust and it's a trust for themselves, so they're the trustee and the beneficiary. A typical example is you have a husband and wife — they'll do a joint trust."They’re both trustees and the trust is for them for the rest of their lives."The big kicker is trusts can aid in avoiding probate, he said.Probate is a legal proceeding that involves the distribution of a deceased person’s assets. An executor must be appointed, who will then have the authority to transfer assets to the beneficiaries.“Usually it’s your spouse or one of your children, and they're in charge of dispersing the assets according to your will,” Stewart said.Stewart recognizes the complexity of estate planning. Given the detailed and intricate nature of the estate planning process, it can cause some misunderstanding. He expounded on one of the most common misconceptions.“When people go into nursing homes, especially if they are single, they feel that they have to spend all of their assets on the nursing home and they can't save anything — that’s the biggest myth we face,” he said. “That's the biggest one we fight every day and try to tell people, 'No that's not the case."There are techniques we can use that have been used before that can help them.’"Say, for instance, a single person with $80,000 has a stroke and now they’re in a nursing home.“Someone will tell them they must spend all $80,000 first and then they can get on Medicaid,” Stewart said.Who that person is depends — it could be someone at the nursing home or even a friendly neighbor, he said.Why would they say that?“Because, I believe they don't know any better, No. 1. No. 2, they’re reading the law literally because if you read the law it says if you spend all your money down and you get it under $2,000 you’re eligible for Medicaid, so they know they're not telling them a falsehood because that's what the law says," he said. “But they don't tell them that there might be some other options in addition to spending some of your money where you can save some money.”Some people may think estate planning is too costly to pursue.“But if you’re not talking trusts, and most people are, for the cost of one or two car payments, you can get all of your estate planning documents done," Stewart said.Why even do estate planning at all?“One reason is to prevent guardianship,” Stewart said. “If they don't have these documents in place and suddenly they get very sick, now they might have to go through that whole process of guardianship. That means if someone is incapacitated and they don't have power of attorney, if someone wants to help them, they have to go to the probate court and become a guardian for that person to handle all of their affairs."That process is expensive and it takes awhile to do.”There are all sorts of reasons why people may put off or completely avoid estate planning."But I always tell people, I mean, if you're still standing, it's never too late,” Stewart said. “There's always something — that's the biggest message I can give people — that it's never too late.”