When To Hire An Estate Planning Attorney
When someone becomes incapacitated or passes away, there are lots of complex legal issues that need to be resolved. However, it can oftentimes prove to be a difficult process.
You’ll want to make sure that you’ve set a plan in place to ensure all of your estate-based wishes are carried out upon your death. Hiring an estate planning attorney is an excellent and very logical step in the protection of your estate and assets.
Estate planning attorneys are specialists in their field who can serve as a resource for lots of different things including concerns, questions, updates to your will and trust, and other changes you may not otherwise understand.
Here are some other instances where you should hire an estate planning attorney.
Getting Affairs In Order
Estate planning allows you to organize your records and wishes, meaning your family will have easy access to your essential financial records, insurance policies, titles, and even beneficiary designations after your death. Taking the time to participate in this active planning process will help you to identify any mistakes or errors while you are still here to amend them.
Hiring an estate planning attorney to help organize your legal documents will reduce the pressure on you. They can help by drafting a complete estate plan on your behalf, which also helps you to avoid paying court costs, taxes, and professional fees.
Creating A Last Will And Testament
This is an important legal document that dictates exactly what happens with your estate after you have died. Knowing that there is a valid document in place that protects your assets will save your loved ones lots of time, money, and additional stress.
However, it can be difficult creating your own will and testament — especially if you have no experience or knowledge of how the legal process works. That’s where hiring an estate planning attorney will work in your favor. They have the experience and knowledge to help you create a valid and individualized plan that benefits you and stands firm after your death.
Estate planning attorneys such as those at Staubus and Randall – https://www.srllp.com/ – can offer invaluable legal advice for your particular situation. They will have knowledge of the current estate planning laws in your state which will ensure that all decisions made for your last will and testament are legally enforceable.
Designating Power Of Attorney Or Beneficiaries
A power of attorney (POA) is a vital part of your estate planning. It is a legal authorization that gives one individual, known as an “agent,” the power to act in place of another person.
In some circumstances appointing a POA is a necessary step, but you should seek legal advice and counsel from an estate planning attorney before making any decisions. This is because the POA has lots of control and can make decisions about finances, property, medical care, and investments should you become unable to do so yourself – so you’ll want to ensure they can be trusted with such responsibility.
And, if a beneficiary has announced that they are planning to contest the will and take the next steps to sue the estate of the deceased, the next logical step should be to hire an estate planning attorney.
These types of lawsuits can be draining both financially and emotionally and might leave the beneficiary in a worse-off position. Hiring an estate planning attorney will mean that should this situation arise, they can diffuse the tension and can also make it so that limited funds are lost from the estate.
To Avoid Probate
An estate planning attorney can also step in to provide guidance to an individual who has been given POA for the estate of a recently deceased person via probate court. Probate is an important court process that works by transferring the estate of a deceased individual to the rightful beneficiaries.
The probate process is expensive, lengthy, and is also open to the public. What this means is that anyone willing to venture to the courthouse can procure copies of your Will and other relevant legal documents.
However, there is some relief in terms of probate and the process isn’t always necessary. This applies to a situation where your assets have already been designated to beneficiaries.
A good estate planning attorney has the knowledge to help you completely avoid the complexities of going to probate court. This depends entirely on the type of assets that have been included in the estate of the deceased.
Summary
Hiring an estate planning agent is a vital part of preparing your last will and testament, and will go far in ensuring the security and protection of your estate. If you’re in the process of sorting your estate and planning for your loved ones after you die, speaking to an expert in the field is an excellent idea.
