At our estate planning law firm NYC, it’s our desire to help you achieve peace of mind. This peace of mind comes with knowing you’d be securing the future of your surviving loved ones — those who depend on you for their financial needs. Through proper estate planning, you could still provide for that niece, granddaughter, or charity foundation even when you’re no longer alive. But that’s not all about estate planning.
Get help by contacting our estate planning attorneys 14222
Our New York estate planning attorneys 14222 can help you make the asset transfer process super-efficient and cost-effective by employing certain estate planning strategies. We use trusts to avoid the probate process while keeping your tax minimal. This enables your beneficiaries to get the most out of your estate and immediately you pass away, without waiting for probate.
Furthermore, we can help you plan towards possible incapacity and long-term care. By establishing a living trust or power of attorney, you will have someone to look after your affairs and make important financial and healthcare decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make them yourself.
We offer you a holistic estate plan that is personalized for your peculiar situation and goals.
Call us today to speak with an estate planning attorney near you 14222.
Common estate planning misconception
1. Believing estate planning is only for the wealthy
Many people harbor the misconception that estate planning is for only the high net worth individuals. This is not true. So long you have some properties in your name, such as a car, house, and a bank account, it’s best to write out who should receive what, so as to prevent squabbles in your family when you pass away.
2. Estate planning is only about asset transfer — drafting a will
Some others believe all there is to estate planning is writing a will. In fact that’s just one part of estate planning. While you should write out how your estate should be disbursed, you should also consider the costs your survivors may incur while trying to inherit what you left for them. They may be subject to huge estate taxes, and the cost of probate (by reason of having a will) tops it off. Tax planning and probate minimization are two important aspects of estate planning, and our estate planning attorneys can help you plan accordingly.
3. Estate planning documents should be kept until death
Your entire estate plan needs to be reviewed from time to time to effect changes when necessary. If you acquire new assets, get divorced, remarry, or your beneficiary dies before you, you would need to update your beneficiary list. If your successor trustee, executor or attorney-in-fact dies before you, you would also need to update your trust or power of attorney. You shouldn’t just create these documents and keep till the inevitable happens as some people think.
4. You don’t need an estate planning attorney; after all you can prepare your will yourself
A lot of people opt for “do it yourself” estate planning to save cost. Some think they don’t even need a lawyer at all because it’s all about drafting a will, and you can easily download a will online and fill in the gaps. However, your will may need to be customized based on the situation in your family, business, or goals. You may not be able to do so efficiently if you lack the know-how, and you may eventually ruin your will as a whole. In addition, estate planning is more than will drafting and the other estate planning documents are more complex, requiring legal handling.
5. Thinking all assets can go into a will or trust
In an attempt to save cost, some people write their will themselves and address all their assets in the will. For starters, your life insurance proceeds, retirement account, and transferable-on-death accounts should be kept out of your will. Allocating them to beneficiaries in your will would only cause discrepancies since these particular assets already have beneficiary designation. They pass outside the will. Furthermore, if your estate contains complex or highly valued assets, it’s better to hold such in a trust to minimize probate.
6. Thinking your children will inherit your property no matter what
If you die leaving a spouse and kids in New York, your spouse gets the most of your estate — the first $50,000 and half of the estate, while the kids get the remaining half. But if your kids are below 18, they cannot inherit. Your spouse will be the automatic owner of everything. And what if your spouse remarries? It means your kids may not get anything in the end.
To get peace of mind, you need to plan now. Contact an estate planning attorney near you today.
Estate Planning Attorneys near me 14222
Call us for a free first consultation with an estate planning attorney near you 14222.