Importance of Estate Planning

Let’s just stay for the very start that nobody likes to talk about probate, death or estate planning I get it

We get a lot of people that come into the office and say I don’t care what happens after I pass away it doesn’t matter to me let them figure it out. I think that a lot of people say this in an act this way because they don’t really want to face the reality of what happens or what could happen when they pass away or when their loved ones pass away. And that is completely understandable

 

But the reality is, if you do not do proper planning then you could be at risk during your lifetime and you could cars extreme emotional harm and stress to your family after you pass away if you have not at least talk to him about what happened or made plans, very specific plans on what you want to happen

 

First I would like to clear up two things. The first is for some reason people think that if there is a will a last will and testament then there does not need to be a probate and that is actually absolutely not true. Whether you have a wheel or not and you have assets then there will have to be a probate no matter what. Having a will will give your family and the court system guidance on exactly what you want to happen with your assets that is huge. If you do not have a wheel then the court will look to the state that you live in and their laws of intestate succession on how to distribute your assets according to that law. And I can tell you from experience that most of the time you are not going to like the state laws that are in place.

 

The second misconception that we see is that people sometimes think that a last will and a revocable living trust are the same thing. And again this is absolutely not true.

 

If you have a last will and testament just like I mentioned earlier it will have to be probated. A last will must be administered by a court and there must be a proper probate to pay all debts gather all the assets and distribute assets to the beneficiaries.

 

A probate can easily last 4 to 6 months if everything goes smoothly. If it does not go smoothly and family starts to fight, then it will get very expensive very quickly and will usually take months if not years to complete

With a revocable living trust you determine what you want to happen with your assets and with you for that matter, dear in your lifetime and after you pass away. The big difference between having a last will and a revocable living trust is that when you pass away with a trust, then your successor trustee takes over and administers your estate without having to go to court and without having to spend thousands of dollars on the probate process

 

Another great feature about having a revocable trust is that it also takes care of you if you are incapacitated during your lifetime. In other words, just like at death you name an incapacity successor trustee. The successor trustee will take over if you become incapacitated, and will administer your assets and take care of you dear in your lifetime.

In both cases whether you have a last will and testament or a revocable trust, it is still important to have several basic but important documents signed at the same time. These include a durable power of attorney for your finances. A health care power of attorney for your Health care. An advance directive or LivingWell, which states what you want to happen if you are in a persistent vegetative state. And HIPAA authorizations which allow medical personnel to speak with certain people that you have authorize them to share medical information with.

 

If you’re wondering what to do or even just afraid of what to do, call an estate planning attorney or a probate attorney in your area and set up an appointment. Most probate attorneys and estate planning attorneys offer a free consultation to help you get started on the right foot