No one wants to think about their end-of-life days and decisions. But if you want to secure your family’s future, you need a complete estate plan to take care of your family’s every need. An estate plan is a collection of important documents that tell your loved ones about your wishes and how you want your assets to be distributed among them. It includes all your assets like property, vehicles, collectibles, personal belongings, and everything else.
However, if you think that creating an estate plan is difficult, you can contact an attorney. An attorney can help you create a perfect plan according to your needs and requirements. This Comprehensive Estate Planning guide is the way for you to know all about estate planning, its in and outs, why you need one, and more. So let’s begin the learning process.
What Is A Comprehensive Estate Plan?
An estate plan is a set of documents that authorizes who will receive all your assets after you are gone, including how and when all the asset transfers will happen. Several reasons can influence the timings of when and how a family member will get their share of the property. And all the details and conditions of asset distribution are written in the comprehensive estate planning documents. Some things that influence the decision are:
- The beneficiary’s age.
- If the beneficiary is disabled.
- Whether the beneficiary has a stable life or not.
- The financial maturity of the beneficiary or even lack of it.
Not just this, it also includes guidelines for when you are declared mentally incapable of making any decisions. It also answers several different questions:
- Who will decide whether you are mentally capable of making good decisions or not?
- Who can check and read all your medical records?
- Who will make all the legal and final decisions?
- And who will take care of the healthcare problems?
Components Of A Comprehensive Estate Plan
There are five important components of an estate plan. It includes:
Last Will And Testament
It is not the only document you need, but it is one of the most important. It is the document in which you will decide who will get what part of your property and asset. This way, you can save your property from going to probate court. Furthermore, in a will, you can also designate a legal guardian for minors and an individual who will look after all your work after you are gone.
Power Of Attorney (POA)
The main purpose of this will is for when you become incapable of doing things and making decisions. A POA will take over all your financial and legal work for you. The individual can buy life insurance, business transactions, and much more. Appointing a person yourself is always better than a court appointing one for you.
Beneficiary Designation
If you have retirement accounts, bank accounts, investment accounts, or life insurance policies, then you must appoint a beneficiary for every account. You can choose multiple beneficiaries or give all the accounts to one individual. Also, these assets are transferred directly to the beneficiaries without going through the probate process.
Living Trusts
When you make a living trust, you are avoiding your assets from going to the probate court. It means you will have to create an agreement (or get an attorney). It also entails naming a trustee to look after the assets and transferring the property and assets to the trust. You will be able to manage it all. However, if you pass away or become incapable for any reason, then the named trustee will take over the work.
Healthcare Directives
If you are incapable of making decisions, then a healthcare directive ensures that there is someone to take care of all your healthcare decisions. You can add a healthcare proxy and should know what is written in your will. This document is essential in case there is a conflict between the family members regarding your care.
How To Create Your Estate Plan
On a general level, an estate plan is a document that decides who will get you property after you are gone or after some unforeseen medical emergency. The majority of the people in America require an estate plan, and the majority of them don’t have one in place. If you don’t understand where to start, here is an easy checklist for making an estate plan.
- Make an inventory of all your assets
- Add all your properties like homes, boats, cars, and more.
- A list of all the personal things such as art pieces, jewelry, and antiques.
- Any retirement accounts
- Savings and checking accounts
- Health saving accounts
- Life insurance policies
- Mutual funds, stocks, and bonds
- Business interest
If you have all or some of these assets, then you need to make a list of them. And collect all the important documents so you can determine what asset you will give to which individual.
- Compare all your options while creating an estate plan, like your trusts and wills. You can choose at what time the beneficiaries will receive their property or assets.
- List down all the beneficiaries you want to pass all your property and assets to.
- You should also make a list of all your wishes for funerals and medical care in case you get incapacitated.
- Search for a good comprehensive estate planning attorney who can help you create the best plan according to your needs.
- Keep a check on your estate plan so that you can change it accordingly if and when required.
When To Update Your Estate Plan Or Make A New One
Throughout your life, a lot can change. Children will turn into adults, and adults can get married or divorced, or somebody can die. Several reasons can lead you to make changes in your estate plan, like the number of assets, relationships, and beliefs.
Therefore, it is important for you to keep checking your estate plan regularly to know whether it requires any changes or not. So, there is no fixed time for when you need to update your estate plan or make a new one. It would be best if you did that whenever you feel that your plan requires changes. Here are some reasons you may need to update or make a new estate plan.
When You Get Divorced
For instance, when you were married, your partner was probably listed as one of the major beneficiaries. And when you are separated, you probably would like to make changes to the estate plan.
Moving To A New State Altogether
When you move to a new state, that place’s rules may differ from those you were living in. In that scenario, you will need to make adjustments to your will according to the new laws.
Kids Moving Out
If you made an estate plan when your children were young, you definitely need some major estate planning updates. Such as making changes in the guardianship duties and life insurance policies.
What Is Probate, And Can It Be Avoided?
Probate is a legal procedure that keeps an eye on the departed person’s properties and assets. And some of the most general ways to avoid probate are by naming specific types of assets to the beneficiaries. These assets include transfer or death accounts, insurance, and retirement accounts. You can also create living trusts to avoid going through the long probate process. Not only is the process long, but it is also very expensive.
Why Everyone Needs An Estate Plan
It does not matter what your age is or what is the size of your assets and property; you need to have an estate plan. That is because the government will take possession of your assets, money, and properties when you pass away without a proper estate plan. And the decisions of the government may or may not be in favor of your family.
So, to safeguard your family’s future, you have to have an estate plan in place. Also, it will save your family’s problems by giving them an idea about your end-of-life wishes. Also, you can create your health care and financial wish list to save your family’s time and money.
Do I Need An Estate Planning Attorney?
Yes, hiring an attorney is important. If you wish, you make an estate plan that has no loopholes. Also, comprehensive estate planning is not easy if you don’t have enough knowledge about the field. So, when you work with an attorney, you won’t have to worry about all the laws you don’t know about, which can later cause an issue.
Attorneys have experience in this field and know about all the ins and outs and the loopholes that may be there in the laws. They help save all your property from going to the government. They can help you draft a plan that meets all your wishes and aims.
Estate Planning Costs
Your estate planning cost depends on the service you are taking. And also how complicated your plan is. Some attorneys charge $500 for a basic estate plan. And some may even charge for their services on a per-hour basis. Some attorneys may even ask for more money by combining both pay scales for a comprehensive estate plan.
While hiring an attorney, ensure that you are hiring them on an experience basis. The most important thing when hiring an attorney to make a comprehensive estate plan is to hire one who knows what they are doing and is not the most or least expensive. As they are the ones that understand even the newest laws and can help you build a perfect estate plan. They can help you protect all your assets and your family.
Read Also: What Are The Legal Documents Required For Estate Planning?
Conclusion
All in all, an estate plan is all about saving your family’s future. As per surveys, most people in the United States don’t have an estate plan in place. And the main reason behind it is how costly an attorney can be. But not with Estate Planning with Nirva. With us, you have the perfect solution to all your comprehensive estate planning problems. We can help you create an attorney-drafted estate plan at cost-effective prices.
Our attorneys are experienced and have extensive knowledge of the US legal system. We can assist you in creating an estate plan in easy-to-understand language. We can also help you avoid litigation, save money, and protect the future of your loved ones.
To know more about our services, or to talk to our experts, call us at 844-995-8155 or write us at info@estateplanningwithnirva.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
An estate plan is a process that involves creating a number of documents that will help you protect your family’s future. It is a plan where you decide what part of your property and assets go to which member of your family. And who will handle what responsibility when you die or are incapacitated?
Comprehensive estate planning is all about securing the future of your loved ones. Because it will give your family members access to all your assets, wealth, and properties. It also makes your family’s work easy after you are gone.
The best way to choose an estate planning attorney is by looking at how much experience they have in the field. You can also choose an online attorney-drafted solution as they are less costly. But always search for the ones that offer complete transparency.
If you are searching for an estate planning attorney who can draft your estate plan, look for an experienced one who can draft your plan in an easy-to-understand language.