How Estate Planning Protects Your Family In New York:
Do you have assets? Do you know estate planning? Are you familiar with surrogate court rules? Safety of your assets and family is a very important thing to ensure. Do you know any estate planning attorneys and estate lawyers nearby? By now you should be familiar with such terms as wills, trusts financial power of attorneys. You need an estate planning attorney? Reach out to the best trust and estate lawyers in New York. We are ready to help you.
All About How an Estate Plan Protects Your Assets and Family in NY
Simply, estate planning is planning for the unexpected or the unforeseen. Estate planning is the process that helps you to direct your personal and financial affairs when you anticipate incapacity, disability, or death. A failure to decide how your personal and financial matters should be handled can result in the surrogate court deciding for you. This may lead to inconveniences and handling of your estate in a way that you never wanted or wished. Therefore, understanding the surrogate court rules that govern estate planning is very important. Also, getting to know the estate attorneys and the best trust and estate lawyers in New York is a big step towards your estate planning. A comprehensive estate plan should include factors such as; how to safeguard or give your assets while you are capable and while incapacitated, how to give your assets upon death, the way forward for your health if you become incapacitated, and the extent of health care you desire in case you become severely ill or incapacitated.
What to expect to be covered in estate planning:
Estate planning typically includes;
Trust
Will
Financial power of attorney and
Health care proxy
Living will
1. What is trust?
Trust is a document that gives you or any third party person the jurisdiction or mandate to hold or manage your money for your benefit or the benefit of another person. If you are the one managing the property, you are called the trustee and a beneficiary if you are the one receiving the trust asset from a trust. There are different forms of trust;
- Living trust. Is a document that contains a set of instructions of how you would like your assets managed or distributed at your death and who and what kind of decision can be made with regards to your assets, finances, and health care if you become incapacitated. The main reason for a living trust is that it saves you from probate which is a court process that can be very expensive and public. The main thing you should remember about living trust is that it is effective while you are still alive and then it gives away your property after your death.
- Spendthrift trust. This is a trust that helps you in case you are a beneficiary by setting a limit of how much money you get and by making the money unavailable to your creditors.
- Supplemental trust. Also known as special needs trust. It’s a type of trust that helps you in case you suffer a severe and chronic physical or mental impairment by creating a fund.
- Testamentary trusts. This is a type of trust that you can create as a part of your last will. It only becomes effective when you die and can benefit any person out of the family members even including your pets.
2. what is a will?
Is a document that contains your wishes regarding how your assets are to be disposed of upon death only. It is written and can be changed or revoked before you die unless otherwise prescribed by the surrogate court rules.
What you are expected to include in your will
When writing your will, you must include;
- How the property should or should not be handled or transferred.
- The types of property or assets to be transferred.
- The person that will be in charge of transferring your property or assets after your death.
- The way on which the existing liabilities like bills and taxes shall be settled.
- The person to take care of your little children or pets.
It is important to know that wills cannot be written by anyone. They are supposed to be written by people of a legal capacity. This means that you should have an understanding of the actions taken by signing a will and decisions on how to partition up your property, awareness of the value and type of property that you are including in the will, and an understanding with the people that you include in your will.
3. What is “financial power of attorney?”
This is a contract where you appoint a person called an agent and granting them the power to make legal decisions and financial affairs on your behalf without further permission. It is important to note that the person may not be necessarily an “attorney” as any mentally competent person can be granted this power.
4. What is meant by” Health care proxy.”
This type of estate planning allows you to appoint an individual or persons to make health care decisions on your behalf in case you are temporarily or permanently unable to reason for yourself for reasons such as stroke or head problems. Having a health care proxy is good because;
- It enables fulfillment of your wishes in case of an emergency and,
- Family disagreements are avoided.
5. What is a living will?
This is a type of estate planning that permits you to put forward your wishes as to end-of-life decisions in an advanced manner. For instance, you can decide on the extent to which you should be taken care of in case of a severe illness.
It is with no doubt that Estate planning in New York protects your assets and family. For it ensures your beneficiaries are given the assets according to your wishes, efficient management of your estate in a case of incapacity, and also minimizing complaints as a result of probate.
FAQs: Estate Planning
What is an estate?
It’s the sum of money and wealth held by a person, especially at death.
What are surrogate court rules?
It’s the set of rules, procedures that govern surrogate work.
What is incapacity?
It is the physical or mental inability to do something or to manage your affairs either personal or financial.
What are assets?
They are the valuable possessions of a person.
What is a legal capacity?
It’s the state of being in a position of entering into contracts that are valid as prescribed by the law.
What is probate?
It’s the process by which a dead person’s estate is administered.
What is a liability?
It is what a person owes to another person.