Estate Planning Attorney
Estate planning attorneys are experts in federal and state laws about estates, trusts, and probate. They assist you in determining how to distribute your assets and provide guidance on the legal forms you need to ensure your intentions are carried out. Additionally, they can assist in drafting legal documents that would safeguard you in the event of illness. Later on, an estate planning attorney will ensure that these documents are followed.
Estate planning attorneys prepare and evaluate a wide range of papers, including:
- Final will
- Durable Power of Attorney
- A durable power of attorney for healthcare
- Trust
- Designations of beneficiaries
Other assistance that Estate planning attorneys provide:
- Create a durable and last will before you pass away.
- Assist you in creating a living or testamentary trust
- Put money into your trust and manage trust management
- Name guardians for your kids.
- Assistance with wealth transfers and tax planning
- Make a strategy to donate to charity.
- Prepare for unforeseen circumstances, such as your beneficiary’s passing
- Create a living will stating your final wishes.
- Give someone a durable power of attorney to handle their finances or medical care.
- Address any concerns you may have regarding estate planning and regional legislation.
Do you need an estate planning attorney?
An estate planning attorney will ensure everything is in order and that all of your documentation is legal and enforceable. Your family will handle your affairs without legal counsel, and they won’t know how to distribute your assets. After speaking with a lawyer about estate planning, you must include everything you need to ensure that your plans will be followed unless one of the documents has to be changed. There are various reasons for Hiring an estate planning attorney. The following are some of the paperwork and circumstances that an estate planning lawyer can assist with:
Last Will
In the last will, you can specify how you want your affairs handled when you pass away. For example, it can be used to designate individuals or entities as the beneficiaries of your possessions and to appoint guardians for your children.
A living will
An advance directive outlines your wishes for care if you become too ill to express them and your preferences for a burial service. The documentation may have a different title depending on the state.
Trust
Many people and transfer their assets to them. A trustee can manage the trust fund’s assets on behalf of the beneficiaries. They can be transferred without going through probate, the sometimes expensive and lengthy legal process for allocating the assets of an estate when an individual passes away.
Selecting recipients
Some accounts, like bank and investment accounts, allow you to choose beneficiaries for the money in the report. The funds may then be given to the receivers without going through a trust or probate. Therefore, when selecting beneficiaries for your life insurance policies, you should consider them.
Durable powers of attorney for finances and health care
Using the power of attorney documents, you can designate anyone to make financial or healthcare decisions on your behalf. (They don’t need to be the same individuals.) If the power remains on while you’re unconscious, it is considered”durable.”
Tax
Your estate planning lawyer can advise you on more specific issues, such as how to create an estate plan to minimize estate and inheritance taxes and employ different trusts to care for family members.
Conditions when estate planning attorneys are necessary-
Most individuals could take advantage of dealing with an estate planning lawyer, but it may not be required in many cases. On the other hand, individuals in specific circumstances might require the assistance of a professional to guarantee that their estate plans are thorough and correctly reflect their goals.
Here are some of the situations when consulting with an estate planning lawyer is necessary:
- When you have a big family or a blended one
- Possess minor children or relatives with specific needs
- Consider that a relative might oppose your will
- Possess a family company or rental properties
- Wish to establish trust
- Possess property in another state or country
- Concerned about inheritance or estate taxes
Conclusion
An estate planning attorney could be a great option if you’re planning your estate and can afford one; you may also continue without an attorney, but that won’t be easy, and the chances of getting errors are high.
