After your passing, what happens to your estate? How do your loved ones cater to themselves? Who receives the assets you own? This are the questions you need to ask yourself. And after answering those questions, you’ll have to plan your estate to ensure that your wishes regarding your estate stays valid. However, before you proceed to plan your estate, you need to know what estate planning entails.
What is Estate Planning?
Estate planning attorneys specializes in several areas of estate plan, including federal and state laws regarding wills, taxes, trusts, and power of attorneys. Also, after the death of an estate power, there is a possibility that his or her will may be contested by an insider or outsider. In that case, it is important that you hire the services of an estate a planning attorney. Or if your estate is quite complex, leveraging those online estate planning tools wouldn’t be a good idea. Estate planning attorney are experts in handling complex estate and can be of great help if you find yourself in such a situation.
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.
An estate planning attorney 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 what happens if you die without a will.
What happens if you die without a will?
If you die without a will, your properties (bank accounts, securities, real estate, including other assets you own) will be shared based on the intestate law of Long Island or whatever state you reside in. Real estate owned in another state will be handled under the intestacy laws of the state where the property is situated.
The law of intestate succession vary significantly depending on whether you were single or married, or had children. In most instances, your assets is shared to your heirs. Your heirs could include your surviving spouse, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, nieces, nephews, including distance relatives. Generally, when no relatives can be found, the whole estate goes to the state
Why is Estate Planning so Important?
Many people are yet to see the importance of estate planning. In fact, in the U.S lots of people die each year without drafting an estate plan, or even creating a will. The consequences of this terrible act, will be experienced by the family and loved ones of these estate owners.
Creating an estate plan is very important. In fact, I cannot emphasize how important this plan is to not just you, but to your family and loved ones.
Failure to create an estate plan when alive will likely haunt you when you become incapacitated. It will also affect your family when you eventually kick the bucket. There will be lots of court hearings to decide how your properties will be shared. Your estate will surely undergo probate which can be difficult, expensive and time-consuming, In a nutshell, failure to create an estate plan is a very terrible mistake.
Need an estate planning attorney?
Due to the complexities that surrounds the estate planning process, you may need the services of an estate planning attorney. With the help of an estate planning attorney, you should be able to not only plan your estate but update the plan later in the future.
An estate planning attorney can also offer you and your family valuable advice that could end up being a lifesaver. In addition, he can help in setting up various important legal estate planning documents like a power of attorney, healthcare directives, a living trust, etc.
If you want to plan your estate, and you need the services of an experienced estate planning attorney, please, don’t hesitate to contact us. Also, if you need help with updating your estate plan, you can contact our office as well. We boast of competent estate planning attorney who can help in creating an estate plan that suits your needs