Peace of Mind – How an Estate Planning Attorney Can Benefit You and Your Loved Ones

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s easy to overlook the importance of estate planning. Yet, securing your financial future and protecting your loved ones through proper estate planning can provide unparalleled peace of mind. An estate planning attorney plays a crucial role in navigating the complexities of legal documents, ensuring your wishes are honored, and safeguarding the interests of your heirs.

Tax Planning

An estate planning attorney can help structure the legal ownership of your assets to minimize tax liabilities. They can also help you set up trusts to lower your tax burden after death. They can help you minimize taxes by utilizing strategies such as gifting and annual exclusion gifts and reducing the income tax your beneficiaries might pay on inherited assets. A good estate planning attorney can also help prevent family squabbling that can happen after the death of a loved one. Squabbling can be caused by heirs fighting over money or because they feel they are being treated unfairly. An attorney can prevent these arguments by ensuring all documentation is clear and understood.

Trusts

While they may seem geared primarily toward high-net-worth families, trusts are useful for people of all income levels. For instance, they can be used to ensure that a family member with a disability is cared for without jeopardizing critical government benefits. Trusts also offer many other financial and tax advantages. For example, a trust can keep assets safe from heirs’ creditors and help manage state income taxes and the generation-skipping tax exemption. They can also reduce the need for costly probate. This allows beneficiaries to receive their inheritances earlier and more predictably. Moreover, they can provide greater privacy as the terms of the trust are not public.

Wills

Having an estate plan makes the process for your family members much less stressful during a difficult time. A will communicate how you would like your property (home, car, furniture) and assets distributed.

It can also allow you to appoint a guardian for any minor children and include funerary instructions. Without a will, your family members will have to go through probate to settle your estate, which can be costly and time-consuming. A will can also help reduce any taxes that may need to be paid on your estate. A good attorney can advise you on other aspects of full estate planning, including trusts.

Powers of Attorney

Powers of attorney give legal authority to a person to act on your behalf if you become incapacitated. Having these documents in place saves time, money, and the headaches of court proceedings and allows quicker access to assets. When creating a power of attorney, choose an agent you trust who takes their role seriously. It is important to talk openly with this person about your wishes should certain circumstances arise.

An estate planning lawyer can help draw up a power of attorney that meets state requirements and complies with your specific wishes. They can also review and update the document as life circumstances change.

Health Care Directives

Healthcare directives are documents that allow people to communicate their medical treatment preferences if they become incapacitated. They include a health care proxy and physician orders for life-sustaining treatments (POLST). These directives can be useful during an emergency or at the end of life. Often, family members have to guess what their loved one would want, which can lead to a mismatch between the treatment received and the person’s wishes. Estate planning attorneys can help people create and execute advanced healthcare directives. They can also review them periodically to ensure that they reflect current values and beliefs. These documents can give peace of mind to everyone involved in a person’s care.

Beneficiary Designations

Beneficiary designations are a way to pass on assets without a will. They typically involve bank accounts, investment portfolios, pension funds and real property. It’s important to review beneficiary designation forms and ensure they align with your estate plan. Please do so to avoid assets being distributed to someone you may not have intended, resulting in hefty tax liabilities for your heirs.

Beneficiary designations override provisions in your Will about the inheritance of assets, so it’s critical to update them based on life events and family dynamics. A skilled attorney can help coordinate your assets and fulfill your wishes.