The importance of having the professional services of an estate planning attorney can never be overemphasized. When you get old and weary, incapacitation may render you incapable of handling your own affairs yourself. Then you would need someone else, bound by legal agreement, to step up and handle your estate affairs on your behalf. That person has to be of your choosing, someone you trust, and you have to make such decisions now that you’re healthy. To do this, an estate planning lawyer will help you create a legal document such as a financial power of attorney, naming whomever you so choose as the person to handle your finances on your behalf.
What will estate planning lawyer do for you?
Estate planning attorneys are professionals with years of experience handling estate matters in New York. Well vast in New York estate laws, estate planning lawyers offer their clients personalized services, tailored to meet the individual estate situation of each client. Having an estate plan is very important, as all your assets have to be accounted for when you die and then passed on to your beneficiaries. To ensure that this process is smooth as can be, and to avoid creating confusions and conflicts among your surviving loved ones, it is highly crucial you put an estate plan in place to handle the estate distribution process, and doing this requires you creating estate planning documents
Write your wills according to the state laws.
State laws rules over what can be included in estate plan documents such as will. They regulate the documenting process of will as well as the formalities through which a will can be implemented. The estate planning lawyer will also help you prepare other estate planning documents such as living trust, power of attorney and advance medical directives. With living trust, you can decide who takes over plans of your estate, make financial decisions over your assets both while you are alive or dead as well as when you become mentally incapacitated.
Evaluate your estate.
While planning your estate, it is expected that you evaluate your assets and properties. With the help of the probate attorney, you can start planning your estate.
Payment of estate debts, bills and expenses.
This is important as each and every asset must be accounted for, and the monetary worth of the estate established. Out of these assets, bills, taxes and debts will have to be paid before the remnant is distributed to every beneficiary. If the value of the estate doesn’t suffice to be shared according to the will, then the beneficiaries wouldn’t get what the decedent intended them to have
Defend you during probate or will contest
The estate planning attorney can also warn or advise the fiduciary that if their incompetence or fraudulent acts leads to financial loss to a trust or estate, then charges can be pressed against him and fines issued for failing to meet up with his fiduciary duties. If he fails, the New York Surrogate’s Court may then fine the fiduciary for breach of duty and would be asked to make amends to the beneficiaries and family members for the estate losses.
Bottom line
It is in your best interest to hire an estate planning lawyer that puts your interest foremost. Are you having complex assets that are difficult to value and probate, or dealing with estate tax audits? A competent estate planning attorney has experience in handling complex assets and can help you cut down on estate taxes. Estate lawyers specialized in areas of probate may also be hired by the decedent’s family or executor to represent them in a Surrogate’s Court in matters such as will contest, settling family dispute over property disposal, and contested accountings.
Contact our Estate planning lawyer
Planning with an estate lawyer is the only way to ensure all appropriate formalities are with proper protocol. With this, you stand at better chances of achieving your goals of estate plans with its adequate execution. On the other hand, doing it yourself option may leave you and your loved ones to chances of revoked, invalid and void estate plan documents.
With the wellbeing of you and your loved ones at risk and safety of your assets in question, is preparing estate plans yourself worth the risk? Contact an estate planning attorney today.
