Why Should You Work With an Estate Planning Attorney?
An estate planning attorney helps you formalize end-of-life decisions and legal documents. They can set up wills, establish trusts, create health care directives, establish power of attorney, create succession plans, and more, according to your wishes. Working with an estate planning attorney to complete and oversee this legal paperwork can help you in the following eight areas:
1. Understanding Estate Laws
Estate planning attorneys are experts in your state’s trust, probate, and tax laws. They can advise you on protecting your assets and ensure your estate is in good hands after you pass. A qualified estate planning attorney will review your assets and property, draft legal documents that adhere to your wishes, and take steps to prevent delays and extra expenses. They can also help you avoid excessive taxation on your assets, either through trusts, tax shelters, or underused income streams.
2. Avoiding Probate
Probate is the legal process of paying a deceased individual’s debts and distributing their assets. Probating an estate can be time-consuming and expensive. If you don’t have a will, the state can decide how to divide your assets among your heirs, which might not be according to your wishes. An estate planning attorney can help organize all your legal documents and distribute your assets as you wish, potentially avoiding probate.
3. Keeping Your Documents Up to Date
Many people draft estate planning documents and then forget about them. If you experience a life-changing event, such as divorce, marriage, or the birth of a child, or make a major purchase, such as property, you’ll need to update your will and trust. An estate planning attorney can review your files regularly and recommend updates to ensure they still reflect your wishes. They’ll also update your documents in case of law changes or new tax benefits.
4. Organizing Your Affairs
Your estate planning attorney keeps an up-to-date list of all your properties, bank accounts, credit cards, retirement accounts, and business agreements, ensuring a well-organized inventory of your assets is available. The attorney will also confirm which assets you own outright and which ones you co-own with another entity, along with their exact values, ensuring no confusion surrounding your ownership and assets after you pass.
5. Accurately Communicating Your Wishes
By drafting detailed documents clearly stating your wishes, estate planning attorneys can ensure no misunderstandings and prevent anyone from taking advantage of your assets. They’ll create customized documents that reflect your wishes, which general fill-in-the-blank forms and templates don’t provide. They’ll also ensure your estate planning paperwork accounts for complex scenarios, such as business partnerships or disability trusts. Your estate planning attorney will fulfill your wishes if a dispute over your assets or beneficiaries occurs after your death. They’ll interpret your end-of-life documents and communicate your wishes to skirt potential family conflicts.