There are a host of benefits you derive when you work with an estate planning attorney. Without in depth knowledge of estate planning laws, you may not be able to take advantage of these laws as a lawyer would.
While you can draft a basic Will yourself, more complex estate planning documents like powers of attorney, trusts, advance healthcare directives amongst others are more difficult to establish alone. These documents should not be ignored as they provide coverage to critical considerations which sum up the whole of a comprehensive estate plan. Your attorney, out of experience, would be aware of the salient factors that must be considered — such as probate, tax laws, and legal requirements — and would help you plan for them accordingly based on your unique estate situation.
It is therefore highly crucial to consult a lawyer that is up-to-date on the various State laws surrounding estate planning, and you can completely count on our law firm to offer you the best services. Simply call our office to speak with an estate planning attorney near you 11211.
Key factors that make up estate planning
At our law firm, we have a systematic and holistic approach to estate planning. The following are critical things we must consider and discuss with our clients:
- Making inventory of all the assets
- Determining exactly how each asset is owned as this affects how they may be passed.
- Making choices as to who should manage your estate in the event of incapacity.
- Making a list of those who matter to you whom you would like to benefit from your estate.
- Going over beneficiary designations for certain assets like IRAs and life insurance.
- Naming an executor to carry out the instructions on your will.
- Discussing how best you would like to leave assets for your minors, either in trusts or by guardianship.
- Identifying strategies that would work best for your estate in terms of simplifying the mode of asset transfer.
- Valuating the estate in with an eye towards tax implications.
- Checking how much debts and financial obligations are owed and if there are enough funds to handle them.
- Establishing documents that in total have coverage over all the points.
- Periodically reviewing the estate plan to meet up with new developments.
We offer relevant advice and suggestions to salient issues regarding your estate
If there are assets you desire to bequeath to loved ones or even charity in specific proportions, then we can help you word your Last Will to that effect. But when we consider your estate and realize how much it can lose through probate, we would advise using living trusts instead. If your estate value is beyond the current estate tax exemption amount, a trust also has the advantage of limiting your estate tax liabilities. As incapacity is plausible, we would help you prepare for the eventuality by establishing powers of attorney and healthcare directives.
Hiring an estate planning attorney is vital if you wish not to fall victim of estate planning mistakes
While estate planning, people often fall into some common misconceptions and mistakes. Some feel they can do it alone, “after all is it not all about creating a will?” and so end up not planning for incapacity and probate. When they become incapacitated, their family is thrown into confusion not knowing the person’s wishes. Some create wills ignorantly and when they pass away, so much ambiguity and discrepancies are found here and there, thus creating more problems for the family.
Another mistake people make is thinking an estate plan is a once-and-for-all affair and so do not review their estate plan from time to time. Estate laws change frequently. The tax exemption amount of next year would be different from that of the last. Few years after creating your will, you may obtain new assets or children, go into a new marriage, or suffer some losses. This means you have to review your estate plan to change beneficiary listings as well as assets, since all these have changed.
If you give birth to a child at an old age, chances are the child would be a minor at your death and so cannot receive from you. Your estate planning attorney will help review your estate plan to either name a guardian for the minor or establish a child trust for them.
Call us
Our expert attorneys will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing all loose ends have been tied. Make no mistakes by contacting us today.
