Planning your estate can be stressful for many people, but it doesn’t have to be when you take the services of an experienced estate planning attorney. It helps in making the process easy and providing peace of mind.

There is no doubt that planning your estate distribution can be a difficult task. Many things must be considered such as taxes, family dynamics, protection of assets from creditors, nursing homes, etc.

What Do You Wish To Achieve With A Will?

An experienced estate planning will ask you what you wish to achieve with your estate. He will ask you about tax issues, whether or not you have special needs children, do you intend to pay the tuition fees of your grandchildren, and so much more. It is important to be honest with your attorney all the time. These questions will help in pointing them in the right direction by better understanding what you for your beneficiaries.

Your Family Situation

The attorney will ask about your family as it is a very important part of planning your estate. The aim of your estate plan is to ensure that your estate is properly taken care of as per your wishes once you pass. It is essential for your attorney to know how many times you have been married, if you have kids, grandchildren, or if your parents are alive, and any other important information about your familial relationships and dynamics. All this information will help your attorney to understand who can be a possible heir or beneficiary so problems are minimized after your passing.

Assets You Own

Your attorney will ask you about the assets you own to better understand your financial situation. After getting a better understanding of your family and financial situation, he will assess what assets you intend to whom. Assets such as jointly owned property and life insurance can pass outside of estate planning documents. These assets avoid probate, which is a costly process that happens if such assets are allowed to pass through a will. The attorney can counsel you on how to set up all assets to pass without probate, if desired. After that, your attorney can counsel you on how to eliminate or reduce taxes, protect assets from nursing homes, protect beneficiaries, and inheritances from divorce etc.

Who Will Be Responsible For Your Estate?

The will attorney will ask you who you would like your fiduciaries to be. A fiduciary will be accountable for various parts of one’s estate. This role can be an executor, a trustee, and it can be a guardian or someone who will have a power of attorney, meaning they can make medical or financial decisions on your behalf if you are not capable of doing so. A experienced estate planning attorney should help you decide whether you want your assets to be given to a bank, person, various trust companies, or even a charity.

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