Cholewka Law

Let's Play Ball!

By Becky Cholewka, Esq.

Photo by Jose Francisco Morales, Unsplash Photographer

I love watching baseball. The local ball field was about a half-mile from my house where I grew up. Every Saturday morning in the spring and summer I woke up to the sounds of the announcer over the PA system. 

Later in life I was lucky enough to work for the Cleveland Indians during my career. I watched batting practice whenever I wanted and knew the secret identity of the team mascot "Slider." But I especially loved the media team digging through statistics books to find that quirky stat for the announcer. "Well, Matt, the person batting third in every Saturday road game in odd years when it was raining has struck out 88% of the time." How can you not love that?
Statistics—never my favorite subject in school—are fascinating when applied to baseball, or real life. Stats can be interesting, or surprising or even sad. 

Here are a few stats from Caring.com’s 2024 Wills and Estate Planning Study:
  • Only 32% of Americans have a will- a 6% decline from last year
  • 1 in 4 Americans say nothing will motivate them to get a will
  • 40% of Americans plan on waiting until a health crisis to get a will
  • Procrastination is the #1 reason why people in all age groups don’t have a will
  • Young Americans ages 18-34 with a will has increased by 50% since 2020
  • 19% more black Americans have a will than in 2020
Where do you fall among these statistics? Are you in the group of 32% Americans who have created a plan to avoid probate and take care of their family to the best of their ability? Or are you one of the 40% waiting for a health crisis before picking up a bat to take a swing.
A final statistic to remember...
  • 100% of people will die 
Are you ready to play ball? 
Becky Cholewka specializes in estate planning services. If you haven’t yet created your estate plan or if your current plan needs reviewed, we would love to help ensure your loved ones are protected. Contact Cholewka Law at 480-497-3770 to schedule a conversation or visit www.gilbertlawoffice.com for estate planning information and videos.