Estate planning is a complex process that you need to execute with the help of an estate attorney. Probate attorneys in NY are people who are qualified and certified to handle matters and laws regarding estate planning. Their understanding of New York surrogate court rules will greatly affect how your assets and personal affairs will be handled. These rules can be very dynamic. Good estate planning will ensure they are up-to-date with the current surrogate court rules. This will enable them to offer you advice on how to do your estate planning. On top of just giving you advice, an estate planning attorney helps you in drafting your estate deeds such as; will deeds and draft a trust deed, power of attorney, and so on. They are also very helpful in the probate process afterward. Having an estate planning attorney reduces your burden and stress for they undertake the bigger part for you. Some of the tasks are discussed below:

1. Helps you draft your will deeds.

A will is a document that gives out directions on how your estate should be transferred to your heirs when you die. An estate planning attorney helps you in drafting a will that is valid according to estate planning rules. The attorney guides you on how to fill your will deeds, this will give directions on who will inherit your property and to what extent, whether or not your children should have a guardian in case they are minors, instructions on how your funeral should be conducted and so on. The attorney also helps you in keeping the will in line with the surrogate court rules in NY and updating you and your family in case of any changes.

2. Creating the durable powers of attorney

Power of attorney is a tool in estate planning, where someone else can act on your behalf in case you are incapacitated. This person may not and is rarely an “attorney” as you may think, but an agent of your choice who meets the requirements of being one. An estate planning attorney helps you come up with these documents of the power of attorney and also advises you on how to choose your agent. This is very important as the agent chosen will take control over your financial affairs and also personal matters such as treatment decisions and so on.

3. Formulating a strategy aiming at avoiding and decreasing your estate tax as possible.

Estate taxes can sometimes be so high and can cost you millions of dollars. These estate taxes can be avoided or decreased to their minimum point with the help of an estate planning attorney who is specialized in that particular area. There are various ways that your estate planning attorney can help you reduce these estate taxes; they include;

• Advising and helping you in making a charitable donation.
• Encouraging you in creating a partnership that is limited to your family members.
• Helping you in coming up with an irrevocable trust
• Advising and effectuating issuance of gifts to your family and so on.

4. Creating ways to prevent you from probate progression.

Many people do not desire the probate process. This might be for the reason that is so costly, time-consuming and it’s too public. An estate planning attorney helps you avoid probate progression in many ways, they include;

• Advise you in managing your assets within your state’s probate estate limits.
• Reducing the value of your estate before you die by transferring to your beneficiaries.
• Encouraging and guiding you to create a living trust.
• Creation of accounts payable upon death and so on.

5. Advising and helping in designating your beneficiaries.

An estate planning attorney in NYC, specifically a family estate lawyer helps you to distribute your estate among your heirs in an equitable way and not necessarily the equal way. They usually help you consider the needs of your heirs first before allocating them your assets. The various needs to be considered include; educational needs, special needs heir, and so on.

FAQs:

Tasks an Estate Planning Attorney Helps You With

1. When should I start estate planning?

Estate planning has no specific time to start. People usually procrastinate on this matter, but it is very crucial to have an estate plan as long as you are an adult and have assets.

2. What are the estate deeds?

Estate deeds are documents that you require in executing your respective estate planning needs. They may be: will deeds, power of attorney deeds, a trust deed, and so on.

3. When is the perfect time to update my estate plan?

Estate plan documents should be updated whenever a major event happens in your life. These events might be; acquiring or disposing of some assets, addition or subtraction of your beneficiaries, after a divorce, in case you are diagnosed with a critical illness such as dementia, and so on. These events are very significant and need to be reflected in your estate deeds immediately.

4. A trust or a will, which one do I choose?

Trust is an important estate planning tool with benefits such as reducing probate and protecting your assets and planning for your tax. On the other side, a will is also an important tool in estate planning as it enables you to appoint an individual of your choice to execute your estate, and also name a guardian for your minor children if needed. Therefore, your choice of either a trust or a will depends on what you need and prefer. 

5. How different is a will from a revocable trust?

A revocable trust is an estate planning tool that can be used in the place of a will. However, there is an added merit of using a revocable trust. This advantage is avoiding probate which might be time-consuming, costly, and too public. It can be more beneficial if you own estates in more than one state.