What Is Estate Planning?
Whether young or old, everyone has spent their lifetime accumulating assets. No one can tell you what to do with the things you own. You can spend your assets, give them away, or save and continue to compile and collect more capital.
Estate planning is the process of getting ready for life’s uncertainties and creating contingency plans for any possible significant event that one might have to contend with. As there are sure to be issues in everyone’s lifetime, a solid estate plan should deal with preparing for these challenges and eventually the disposition of property at death.
To better prepare for such eventualities, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and other legal tools are essential to safeguard assets and provide effective management of those assets.
Estate planning is the design of an individual’s estate, employing the laws of different disciplines. Since estate planning consists of the management of a person’s assets during their life, and disposition after their death, only an expert estate planning attorney should provide legal advice necessary for such a detailed plan.
What Are The Risks of Failing To Make an Estate Plan?
Thorough estate planning gives family members assurance that affairs will be managed properly, no matter what the future brings. Without the proper documents in place, your estate can end up in Probate Court, both while you are alive and after your death. At that point where the Judge will make decisions about your well-being and your assets based on the law, not based on your wishes.
Not only does the Probate Court make legal decisions, but your assets are subjected to unwanted expenses which may considerably diminish the estate’s value.
With proper documentation from a well-executed estate plan, your assets will be protected from the unnecessary financial burden of going through a lengthy probate process. The proper choices of asset protection in advance will provide long-lasting benefits for the preservation of your estate.
What Documents Should My Estate Plan Contain?
- Living Trust - Revocable or Irrevocable Trusts
- Pour Over Will
- Certificate of Trust Existence
- Warranty Deed
- Assignment of Personal Property
- Medical Power of Attorney/Living Will
- Financial Power of Attorney
