If you have assets that you want to stay within the family when you are gone and you do not yet have a will or estate plan set up, this is something you will want to address sooner rather than later. Even if you are not yet advanced in years, having a personalized estate plan in place can provide you and your family with peace of mind. Here's why a personalized estate plan can be so important and why you should hire an estate planning attorney to help you.
Stop Family Disputes Before They Start
If you have assets and multiple potential beneficiaries, you will want to do what you can do while you are alive to ensure things don't get ugly within the family after you are gone. Having a personalized estate plan in place can let everyone know in advance where they stand. If someone in the family does decide to push for more when the time comes, having an estate plan and your estate planning attorney already in place will go a long way toward protecting your wishes.
Save Your Family Time By Avoiding Probate
When there is no official estate plan for an individual upon death, the assets may likely have to go through probate court before they can be split up and handed out. Going through probate can be a time-consuming process. It's also something your family will not enjoy going through while they are still in mourning. When you have a personalized and finalized estate plan and an estate plan attorney to act as your voice, you may be able to skip probate court and have assets immediately go to the right person.
Save Your Family Money By Avoiding Certain Costs
Probate court isn't just potentially time-consuming, it can also be expensive. This is especially true if there is a dispute about your wishes and multiple family members decide to hire an attorney. By making your wishes clear and putting them down in writing before you go, you could collectively save all of your beneficiaries from having to hire and pay for an army of lawyers.
Make Your Wishes Clear If Incapacitated
A personalized estate plan can have additional provisions beyond what happens after you die. You could also make your wishes known for what should happen if you are incapacitated in some way but still living. Do you want to be resuscitated by doctors if that is an option? Do you want to be hooked up to a life support machine or do you want your family to let you go?
For more information on estate planning, check out a website like https://www.linskylaw.com/.
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