Estate Law Tips: How to Plan Your Legacy and Ensure Your Family’s Future
An estate plan includes your possessions or assets like your home, real estate, car, life insurance, investments, and savings.
Although it sounds like a story for the rich, everyone needs an estate plan. It’s a legal document that your estate planning lawyer will avail to your loved ones after your demise.
The document also considers your well-being when you’re alive, in case of disability. Many people aren’t amused about writing a will, but an estate plan is a document you should create immediately. With an estate plan in place, you have peace of mind and are sure your lawyer will implement your wishes in your absence.
Steps to Planning for a Peaceful Tomorrow
Most people don’t prioritize writing a will but creating an estate plan is something you can do today to ensure your peace of mind. Besides, an estate plan also saves your family headache and financial conflicts in the future.
Here are some law estate tips to keep your family safe:
Envision Your Wishes for the Future
Before assembling a team to help you craft an estate plan, consider your wishes and what you’d want to happen when you die or become incapacitated. Although it may be tricky to bring it up with your loved ones, explain your intentions, and allow them to ask any questions concerning the topic.
Craft Your Plan
When writing an estate plan, you need several documents. A simple will applies to someone who has never been married or had children because all they need to do is outline who inherits their property. But the process is complicated in a scenario with children and spouses. Some useful documents for a person with children and a spouse include the following;
- Will testament
- A living will
- Trusts
- Powers of attorney – Medical power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, durable power of attorney
- Life insurance
- Beneficiary designation
Keep your Estate Planning Documents Safely
When the documents that make your estate plan are ready, keep them safe by;
- Organizing the documents and securing them together
- Tell your lawyer and executor where they are.
- Create digital copies and save them.
Talk to Your Loved Ones about Your Estate Plan
Discuss your plans regularly with your loved ones, executors, or agents. Besides the contents of the estate plan, inform them about the location of personal, financial, and medical documents. Have another written document detailing your wishes after you’re gone, like organ donation, funeral plans, or cremation.
Review Your Estate Plan Regularly and Update It
As life progresses, your estate plan and the corresponding documents may change. Here are some life events that can affect your estate plan:
- Children
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Switching jobs
- Retirement
- New assets
How an Estate Plan Affects Your Loved Ones
Thinking about your loved ones will encourage you to have an estate plan to avoid conflict. Estate planning will act as a safety net that protects your property or investment from exploitation, and your vision is realized in your absence.
Here’s why an estate plan is essential:
Property is Distributed Right When You Die
In case of sudden demise, an estate plan determines who gets what from your possessions. It’s not uncommon for children to fight for property or investments after their parent’s death. In other cases, the property ends up in the wrong hands, while others get the wrong proportions. However, an estate plan lets you control how you want your property managed or distributed.
Protect Your Children
Are your children safe if you are dead? Will they have conflicts and endless court battles trying to outsmart each other on who should own what? These scenarios are possible, and they happen. But with an estate plan, even young children can be safe.
Since children can’t inherit property before the legal age, an estate plan ensures the property is well-managed until they can make independent financial decisions. An estate plan protects your children from anyone wanting to take advantage, like spouses or creditors.
Life is Easier on Your Loved Ones When You’re Gone
Losing a loved one is complex enough and even more complicated if there’s property to be shared without a will. Dying without a will only adds up to the tough times your loved ones are going through. Your children will have probate courts, something you can avoid with an estate plan. You can prevent your children from dealing with a probate court by having an efficient estate plan.
Age and Die with Dignity and Respect
An estate plan gives you and your loved ones peace of mind and allows you to age gracefully and die while in control. As you write an estate plan, nominate one person to handle finances and make decisions regarding your health if you are unable.
Eliminate Family Conflict
Unfortunately, children don’t get along after their parents are dead. Depending on how children relate with their parents, one child might believe they are more entitled than others, sparking a conflict. Such conflicts only lead to litigation, a waste of money and time. However, drafting an estate plan will leave no room for disagreement because everyone knows your wishes.
