It can be easy to overlook, but an estate plan is essential for nearly everyone, whether you have a lot of money or just a little. An estate plan tells your heirs and the courts how to divide up your assets. However, it also helps protect your loved ones from unnecessary hassle and expense – as well as potentially months, even years, tied up in the court system settling your estate.
As you’re making your estate plan, you’ll want to carefully consider everything. This means it may take a while to complete your plan. Here are five things to watch out for along the way.
There are many stories of strange conditions in wills and trusts over time. For example, the German poet Heinrich ‘Henry’ Heine died in 1856 and left his estate to his wife, Matilda, on the condition that she remarry, so that ‘there will be at least one man to regret my death’.
So, what happens to your estate if you don’t have a will nor any children?
Children may have moved away or lost touch. Old contacts may have died or become disabled. You cannot trust everyone and criminal cases based on misuse of a power of attorney do exist.
Whatever the reason, whether your life is a bed of roses or a getting-worse-nightmare, there are things you can do now to insure what you leave will go to who you want. And when. And in what portion or portions.
Usually when asked to be the executor of a family member’s estate, the person feels honored and trusted. It’s a big responsibility, since the executor will be carrying out a person’s final wishes.
Even though it is critical for your assets, family and legacy, estate planning tends to fall to the bottom of people’s to-do lists. What new parent wants to draft a will, while finalizing a nursery paint color?
Estate planning is a crucial part of any holistic financial plan, and financial advisors often work with estate planning attorneys for guidance in this area.
Even those with the best of intentions can fall into the trap of estate planning misinformation. Estate planning attorneys frequently hear rumors and ill advice disguised as facts.
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