Tools You Can Use for Estate Planning
How do you ensure your family is cared for if the unfortunate happens? As a sole or primary breadwinner, you may be conflicted about the steps you can take to ensure the well-being of your loved ones when you inevitably pass on.
Enter estate planning – the process of managing, preserving, and distributing movable and immovable assets in the event of death. With the assistance of a probate attorney, you can make arrangements for the distribution of your wealth.
Building on this idea, this comprehensive blog will introduce you to the tools you can use, including insurance policies, nominations, wills, gift deeds, and trusts. Keep reading below:
Understanding Estate Planning
Estate planning ensures your assets are smoothly distributed and supports your family and loved ones in the event of your demise. “By making these arrangements early enough, you ensure your kin maintain the same living standards after you pass on,” says Estate Planning Attorney Caryn Rivett West.
On the same note, estate planning can consolidate and arrange for the distribution of your wealth if you suffer from lifestyle diseases such as Dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Now that you know the importance and purpose of estate planning, it is time to unravel tools you can leverage for this crucial undertaking.
Insurance
If you are the sole breadwinner of your family, taking out comprehensive life insurance covers their needs when you are incapacitated. Married persons can also utilize the Property Rights of Married Persons Act. Owning property as tenants by the entirety can protect it from creditors.
Beneficiary Designation
You may use a beneficiary designation to direct an asset such as life insurance or retirement benefits to transfer directly to your loved one at your death.
Agent
You can name an agent under a power of attorney to handle your assets in the event that you are incapacitated.
Will
A will is a formal document utilized by testators (the person writing the will). It defines how they want their property to be distributed upon their demise.
Your will must be in writing, whether typed or written by hand. It must also have two witnesses to be valid unless the Will is entirely in one’s handwriting, then it is legal without any witnesses. Without it, your legal heirs may find it difficult to claim the assets you leave behind, a process that can drag on for years.
Gift Deeds
Next up, you can use gift deeds to ensure the welfare of your loved ones. However, this tool has one key difference in contrast to the ones discussed above: it can only be used when you are alive.
Trusts
Winding up our breakdown are trusts. While they can be legally nuanced, these tools are an excellent choice for estate planning.
In simple terms, a trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows a third party to hold assets on behalf of beneficiaries, which in this case, is your kin. With the help of a probate attorney, you can structure the legal structure to pass on assets to your kin at specific timelines, such as when minors turn 18 or when they finish college.
Conclusion
Estate planning allows individuals to leverage several tools to plan for their family’s future after they pass on. A good probate attorney can help you select the best estate planning strategy according to your assets, legal framework, and the unique needs of your family. Additionally, they will help you draft these legal documents clearly, reducing the potential for conflicts among legal heirs and beneficiaries down the line.
