5 Things You’ve Never Heard About Trust and Estate Planning Attorneys
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Most people have a basic understanding of what a trust and estate planning attorney does. However, they do not know the specifics, the details, and what exactly they should do if they want to create an estate plan. What’s more, most people simply postpone this important decision and don’t know why they should do it. The reasons are many, and it’s important to deal with your estate issues during your lifetime to help your loved ones avoid additional legal problems after your death.
Let’s go over some of the most important things you didn’t know about estate planning. Estate planning will help you make the right decision and help your loved ones in the future. What’s more, a good estate plan will protect your assets and guarantee a safe future for your children and beneficiaries.
An Estate Plan Allows Your Loved Ones To Avoid The Difficult Probate Process
Probate can be a legal nightmare for your beneficiaries. The process is difficult, incredibly time-consuming and can become quite expensive if the assets are complex and require additional studies and assessments. It’s no surprise that most people want to avoid probate at all costs. But what exactly is probate? The “probate” term encompasses the whole court proceedings that occur when someone dies and the assets transferred to the relevant beneficiaries. The whole process takes place because an estate plan or a will was not created before the client’s death.
People want to avoid the probate process at all costs. This desire comes from the horror stories about the proceedings coming from friends, neighbors, or the media. Probate is almost seen as a boogeyman of the legal system, and most people will do whatever it takes to avoid it. There are a lot of risks, unnecessary expenses, long-dead times, and other related issues that will further complicate the process.
Another reason to avoid the probate process is publicity. Officially, probate proceedings are matters of public record. That means that the information relevant to the proceedings is available to anyone who asks or searches for it. The provisions of your will, the lists of your property or assets, your belongings, and your beneficiaries are all public information. This is especially problematic when considering the availability of the internet and the privacy issues it may create.
Your Trust And Will Attorney Will Avoid A Legal Mess If Anything Goes Wrong
A clear estate plan created by a good trust and estate planning attorney will mean that there will be nothing to fight about. Every asset is carefully managed, and every important aspect is decided. Most clients complain that the transferring process is often complicated, expensive, and time-consuming. This occurs if there is no estate plan or if the plan was poorly drafted. This can lay the groundwork for family infighting and strife, which leads to stressful situations. Creating a good estate plan can avoid future disasters and nightmares.
Planning can also help parents avoid creating tensions among children and other beneficiaries. The plan can be changed during your lifetime, so it’s never a waste. Failing to create a plan can be a disaster for your family – both in terms of financial costs, emotional stress, relationships, and much more. A clear plan will help and decide who gets what, when, and how. It’s a document that can solve major issues.
Start Your Estate Planning As Soon As Possible
There’s no way of knowing what will happen tomorrow. There’s no way of being sure about what the future holds. It would be best to prepare for the unexpected and make sure your estate is carefully managed. Don’t leave your children or beneficiaries without support or direction. Ideally, it would be best if you started the estate planning discussion with a specialized trust and will attorney as soon as possible before anything bad can happen. It’s the best insurance for your loved ones and will give you much-needed peace of mind. Make sure to start your estate planning before anything goes wrong. As soon as you get it done, you can go on with your life.
Create A Living Will – Your Best Active Protection
Estate planning doesn’t focus only on planning for death. It’s also about planning for situations where you will be incapacitated. For instance, severe medical conditions like coma, severe trauma, persistent vegetative state, paralysis, final stages of cancer, or other issues can be relevant in this case. Your estate and assets must be managed when you are incapacitated, and trust will create a living, and an estate planning attorney can be the solution. It covers this type of situation, where you are unable to make any decision regarding your assets.
If you become incapacitated, nobody can pay your bills, access the bank accounts, or make legal decisions on your behalf without careful planning. If there is no active living will, a complex legal proceeding will take place, which will eventually give your family full rights to your estate. This process is incredibly cumbersome and will be a disaster both for you and your family. The good idea is to name and authorize someone in the estate plan that can act in case you can no longer make decisions.
The Peace Of Mind – Everyone Can Go Back To Living Their Lives
This is one of the most important aspects of careful estate planning. Your trust and will attorney will give you the much-needed peace of mind. Everything is set for the difficult moments, and everyone is taken care of. A lot of clients are happy that they finally drafted an estate plan. Usually, it’s something many want to do, and they are very happy to finally have one. The weight is lifted, and it feels fabulous for most people. The estate plan gives peace of mind to the client and their beneficiaries and family. It’s a wonderful gift for everyone. Life can go on, and everyone can go their own way.
