Estate Planning

Getting your affairs in order

The purpose of estate planning is to pass someone’s assets to their beneficiaries in the event of death. Proper planning will further ensure that the least amount of taxes will have to be paid on the estate and that the estate will not become caught up in probate court. Further planning may be necessary should there be minors left as guardians of the estate. There are several components that make up proper estate planning, such as trusts, the will, appointment of powers, gifting, property ownership and power of attorneys.

Living Will

A living will is a document that is composed when a person is of sound mind, and it exclusively states how they would like any medical decisions to be made on their behalf, should they find themselves dependent on life support or a ventilator. This also covers end-of-life decisions. Wills and estate planning are very much related to each other. How the will is composed will determine how the estate is distributed. It is the job of the lawyer to sit down with his client and make sure that everything is legal and covered in its entirety.

It is important that a lawyer knows and understands his client’s hopes and goals for his estate in the event of the client’s death. The lawyer should also make inclusions for any regulations and / or strategies that might have to be used to save the estate at a later time. For example, what if you leave your son and his family your home, but he can’t afford the taxes on the home? These things, including other household expenditures and family budgets, need to be taken into consideration.

Proper estate planning entails a sequence of legal strategies that will keep your beneficiaries out of probate and eliminate as many taxes as possible that they will have to pay upon your death. Estate planning is a good idea for many reasons, mostly because it leaves you in control of what is done with your property once you pass. By naming the recipients of your estate, you can avoid these taxes by using the $1 million tax-free gift option.

What if you don’t plan your estate?

The consequences of not planning your estate and preparing a will means that when you die, the state that you reside in will be allowed to decide how your estate is divided up. It is also possible at that point that the maximum in taxes is imposed. Estate planning allows you to protect your property by making all of the decisions and setting forth all the terms regarding how it will eventually be distributed. If you would like to protect your estate from taxation and improper distribution among relatives, then you need to safeguard it properly.