Estate Planning
An estate plan ensures that your money, property, health care, and loved ones are handled the way you want in the unfortunate event that you become incapacitated or die. A well crafted estate plan will reduce unnecessary delays and costs, and give your family and friends helpful direction during a difficult time.
What is an estate plan?
An estate plan helps protect you, your money, and the people you care about, both during your life and after you die. It is useful for almost everyone, not just the wealthy or the elderly.
Your "estate" is everything you own: your home, your car, your sofa, your bank accounts. When you die, your estate needs to be distributed to living relatives or other individuals or entities you nominate. If you pass without an estate plan, the courts will decide how your estate is distributed, and to whom. This process is called "probate", and it is expensive, slow-moving, and can cause disputes among living family members and friends.
A "will" is your set of instructions to the court about how you want your assets to be distributed after you die. In your will, you appoint a trusted individual to serve as "executor" and carry out your wishes through the probate process. Having a clear and legally binding will helps reduce the cost, timeline, and conflict of the probate process.
A "living trust" avoids probate entirely, saving time and money as well as protecting your privacy. The trust holds legal title to your property while you are alive, then automatically transfers that property to your designated beneficiaries when you pass away.
I also recommend that my clients complete two "powers of attorney", which appoint a trusted individual to make medical decisions for you and manage your financial affairs if you are incapacitated and unable to make those decisions for yourself.
Good planning can reduce or avoid probate for many assets, which can otherwise be slow, public, and expensive. Clear documents and instructions also lower the chances of family fights, because expectations and decisions are laid out in advance instead of being argued about later.
How can I provide for my kids?
This is one of the biggest concerns for parents: what will happen to my children if my spouse and I pass away unexpectedly? A comprehensive estate plan designates who will provide housing, education, medical care, safety, security, and comfort of your children until they reach adulthood. Appointing a guardian in your will ensures that the court doesn't grant custody of your children to a family member whose values you don't share. An estate plan also appoints a financial guardian to manage your child's assets for their benefit until they reach the age of 21.
