A Professional Law Corporation
Estate Planning
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What is Estate Planning?
Almost everyone has an estate. An estate is comprised of all that you own, including your home, real estate, car, bank accounts, investments, life insurance, and personal possessions such as furniture and jewelry.
Since you cannot take your estate with you when you pass on from this life, you may want to control how these things are given to people or organizations you care most about. This is called estate planning.
Your estate plan will provide instructions on who, what, and when your beneficiaries will receive their inheritance. Most estate plans are set up with the help of an attorney who is experienced in estate law and can ensure that the least amount is paid in taxes, legal fees, and court costs.
Key Points of Estate Planning
Estate planning involves deciding how your assets are managed, preserved, and distributed after death or you become incapacitated.
Estate planning includes making a will, naming beneficiaries and an executor, setting up trusts, making funeral arrangements, and other tasks to limit taxes.
Wills are legal documents and instruct how property and custody of minor children are to be handled after death. Guardians for living dependants can be established.
Strategies to limit estate taxes include making charitable donations and creating trusts in the name of beneficiaries. Durable power of attorney documents can be setup to direct assets and investments.
What Happens With No Plan?
When an individual without an estate plan dies, all of that person’s assets will be distributed according to the probate laws in that state. This can not only increase the costs for court fees and appointed trustees, but lengthen the time it takes to distribute the assets.
In the event of a disability that you suffer which makes you unable to conduct business, only a court appointee can sign for you, not your family. This can be expensive, is open to the public, and may be difficult to end.