Estate Planning Basics

We’ve heard many horror stories about people with money who died without leaving a financial legacy behind, leaving their loved ones pitted against each other on who should get what. These fights are sometimes ugly and public; sometimes, they even end up in court, costing your loved ones thousands of dollars in court and attorney fees. Things will be difficult for your loved ones even if you leave a big bank!

Estate planning is a smart way of preventing family disputes over a deceased’s wealth. It ensures who gets what portion of the wealth you worked hard to amass.  Is an estate attorney necessary?  Most people say absolutley yes!

Now, you don’t have to be of significant wealth to plan your estate.

Estate planning is for everyone.

Everyone has something, whether in stocks, real estate, hedge funds, derivatives, gold, personal business, or bitcoin! As you age, things slow down, and your health deteriorates. Death is a matter of when not if. But before that, you may even become incapacitated. And just what do you think will happen to your assets when you are gone or legally incapable? It’s hard to think about it, but the surest way to maintain control over your wealth even after you’re gone is to leave guidelines. That means doing comprehensive estate planning.

People make a lot of excuses for not planning their estate. Sometimes it’s ignorance; other times, it is pride or denial that there’s still time. But life is full, not short of surprises and unpredictable events. Someday someone different will need to take over your personal and financial matters. Leave them a guideline.

Estate planning doesn’t have to be costly.

Even if you can’t afford a comprehensive estate plan, you can start with a simple, affordable plan such as a will, trust, power of attorney, and term life insurance with plans to reassess the platform later as your financial situation changes.

An experienced estate planning lawyer can help you plan your estate; they will look into your financial situation, family needs and advise on a suitable plan. They will also help with the preparation of documents to protect your assets against taxes and lawsuits. These include titles, last will and testament, power of attorney, advance directives, and living will and trusts.

So, no more excuses to avoid planning your estate. Estate planning is a necessary process and simple with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney.

Advantages of estate planning include:

• Reducing taxes: indeed, the common goal of planning one’s estate is so that your loved ones don’t drown in tax expenses. That means not leaving your wealth unprotected from the IRS. It also means not just transferring assets to heirs without considering the tax burden it’s going to create for them. You can also set up trusts to reduce or avoid estate taxes.
• Protecting beneficiaries. The common goal of estate planning is designating beneficiaries and or heirs to avoid probate, where your surviving loved ones have to depend on court rulings on who should get what. Probate litigations take years and cost a lot of money.
• Protect your children by naming guardians and stating how they should care for them before they turn 18.
• Eliminating family squabbles. Choosing who will take over your responsibility and designating heirs ensures a smooth transition when you die or become incapacitated.

What is Estate planning?

Every estate planning starts with a will or living trust. But while wills and trusts designate asset sharing and who should be in charge, they are not the same.

What is a will?

A will is a document that designates asset sharing and should be in charge of a person’s assets until their final distribution. A will is recognized under the law. But a will won’t help avoid probate. All assets in your name should go through their jurisdiction’s probate process before they can be distributed to heirs. Jointly-owned properties are excluded from probate.