Estate planning is one of the most underrated plans on earth. Even as this plan is quite important, there are a lot of people out there who are yet to plan their estate. Of course, these people may have a few reasons why they haven’t taken the bold step yet. In fact, some of these reasons are based on fallacies like the fallacy that estate planning is only for the rich, and the likes.
Without an estate plan, your assets wouldn’t be managed and distributed based on your wish. The car you own including those luxury mansions will be shared in a way you don’t approve. So the best way to stop this from happening is by planning your estate.
How do you plan your estate?
Of course, you can decide to plan your estate yourself with the help of one of the numerous estate planning tools on the internet. However, the truth is that, those tools aren’t effective in planning all estate. Thus, if you want to plan your estate appropriately, it is very important that you seek the help of an estate planning lawyer, Brooklyn.
An estate planning lawyer can help you plan all types of estates, regardless of its size, location, or the circumstances surrounding the estate.
Without much ado, let us consider some of the reasons why estate planning is very important.
- It saves time and money
When you die without a will, it means you have died intestate. What his means is that, your assets will be managed and distributed based on the intestate laws of the state you reside in. The probate court will designate representatives to share your assets. In a lot of cases, the surviving spouse is usually charged with sharing the assets of the deceased. However, if you don’t have a surviving spouse and no close family member is willing to take the job, the court will designate a public trustee to share your assets according to state law.
While all of this is on, no one can lay hands on your assets or execute your directives. They are all frozen until the court system scrutinizes every detail of your estate, applies state laws, settle unpaid debts, and makes decisions about how to allocate your assets.
The probate process, on the other hand, involves a lot of paperwork and court appearances by lawyers, and the estate pays their fees. Probate can be time-consuming, it can take months or even years before it is concluded. Given the legal bills, it can end up being very expensive for surviving family members.
- It helps prevent family scuffle
When you plan your estate, your wish will be known via the content of your will. However, if you fail to plan your estate, your family members will scramble to lay their hands on your assets using any means necessary. This could result in a full blown war in your family. Your brother could file a lawsuit against your wife in a bid to claim your house. Your wife could take your sister to court for one reasons or the other regarding your assets. Things could get messy quickly if you don’t have an estate plan.
However, if you have an estate plan, the tendency of an ensuing scuffle is low as your wishes will be outline in your will.
- Estate planning avoid huge taxes
Estate taxes is one of the reasons why estate planning is often related with the super-rich. Admittedly, federal estate taxes normally only affect the ultra-wealthy. That is because the estate tax exemption is $11.7 million per season or $23.4 million for married couple in 2021, meaning only individuals who die with assets worth above that sum are to pay federal estate taxes. But, state estate and inheritance taxes can be another issue.
Estate taxes are assessed on and paid by a deceased person’s estate and it has the ability to chop-off a huge chunk of the deceased’s asset. With a good estate plan in place the estate beneficiaries wouldn’t have to pay much estate taxes.
Other benefits of estate planning is that it:
- Protects minors
- It caters to your needs when you become incapacitated
