A Quick Guide to Estate Planning Law
While most people would rather not think about it, death is inevitable, and it is always a good idea to prepare for when it comes. Irrespective of the size of your estate, planning for what happens to it after your demise can save your family unnecessary conflicts, expenses, and delays. Estate planning can be complex, and a lawyer’s help is the only guarantee of getting it right. This guide can also help you with the basics and is an excellent read if you are considering estate planning in Florida.
What Is Estate Planning?
“Most people consider estate planning as drafting a will or setting up a trust. While the two are integral to estate planning, they are not all there is to it,” probate lawyer Samah T. Abukhodeir of The Florida Probate & Family Law Firm. The basic definition of Estate Planning is arranging how a person’s estate is managed after death or incapacitation. But in the legal space, it can include so much more. It involves the creation of various documents such as a lasting will and testament, a trust, a durable power of attorney, beneficiary designations, advanced healthcare directives, and a list of insurance policies and financial information.
Last Will and Testament
The will stipulates how a person’s wealth is distributed upon their death. It also names an executor who is a representative who administers it after their death by filing it in court to initiate the probate process.
Trust
A trust is an agreement between an estate owner (grantor) and a trustee, allowing the trustee to manage an estate on behalf of the beneficiaries for a set period. A trust can be revocable or irrevocable. Creating a trust can help avoid the probate process, which can be costly.
Power Of Attorney and Advanced Health Care Directives
A durable power of attorney authorizes an individual to make important decisions on behalf of the signer in the event of an incapacitation. These decisions include financial, legal, and medical. Medical decision directives can also be made using an advanced health care directive.
Beneficiary Designations
Beneficiary designations are individuals named as beneficiaries of assets not subject to the probate process, such as pensions, 401Ks, and insurance policies.
List of Insurance Policies and Financial Information
This document is as its name suggests. A list of all held insurance policies, bank accounts, investments, mortgages, credit cards, and retirement plans.
Do I Need an Estate Planning Lawyer
There is no requirement to have a lawyer when planning an estate. However, most aspects of estate planning are way out of the layman’s purview, so you more likely than not need to engage one. The only exception would be if all your assets have a beneficiary designation, such as life insurance policies and bank accounts.
A lawyer can help in several ways. First, they can help you avoid the lengthy probate process by helping you understand the available options. Also, they help with document drafting to ensure they pass the compliance test and are enforceable.
Lastly, a lawyer knows what mistakes to avoid when planning your estate to save costs and ensure the smoothest transfer of assets to your loved ones.
Final Words
The inevitability of death makes a strong case for planning for it. While you might not care what happens after you are gone, it can bring relative comfort knowing that your assets reach the ones you love most efficiently. You also minimize the possibility of family feuding over assets. This guide only offers the basics of estate planning. If you need more information about the topic, consider talking to an estate planning expert or a lawyer.
