Estate Planning: What You Should Know

Planning ahead and making plans for you family is important. You need to set down who is going to take what but more importantly you need to provide a guideline for who you want to be in charge of your minor children. It’s important to take care of making life easier when you pass by not letting your family have to deal with the courts trying to sort out your property and your minor children. Estate planning is doing more than just figuring out what you’ll do with your property it’s about taking care of your family.

There are a few things to consider when you are estate planning. The most important thing to remember is that you don’t have to be rich to have something in place. Generally you hear about these being set up to protect the assets of the rich. While it might be true that the rich benefit from it, it doesn’t mean that you have to be rich to put one in place. It will do your family a great benefit to have a plan in place that will help ensure that your family and financial goals are met after you pass away.

There are several elements to the estate planning. First you need to have a will. This lists the various assets you own and what you want done with them. Having one of these documents in place before you pass will save your heirs a lot of trouble during an already difficult time. Dying intestate, or without a will, means your assets will have to go through probate which can be a long drawn out process where the courts decide who gets what. Not only does a will sort out your assets it can help to determine who will be responsible for any minor children in your home. Losing a parent is difficult enough without the added stress of not knowing what will happen when the dust settles.

A trust is also part of estate planning. Again this isn’t necessarily for the super-rich. You can set up a trust no matter your wealth level. What this will do, is give you the power to put conditions on how your assets are distributed. You can also but conditions on when your heirs receive their assets after you pass. This can be a certain number of days after you pass or even your heirs have to be a certain age before they can receive the property.

There is a lot to estate planning. You need to take the time and sit down to figure out what is the best course for you and your family. No matter whether you are doing a will, a trust, or a combination of the two it’s best to talk to your heirs before you pass. Let them know what is going on and why you’ve made the decision that you have. It can mean that there will be few surprises once you’re gone and might help to alleviate any potential issues.

By: Anna Woodward

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