Estate planning helps protect your family in the event that something happens to you.
Find out the top 10 reasons to create an estate plan:
- Provide support and financial stability for your surviving spouse or partner, children, and grandchildren.
- Preserve your assets for later generations.
- Make sure your wishes are carried out when you can no longer manage your affairs. It’s important to have both a power of attorney and an advance health care directive.
- Support a favorite charity or cause with a gift of money, securities, or other property.
- Distribute assets in a timely fashion, with a minimum of legal hassles.
- Minimize taxes and expenses that can go along with transferring assets.
- Meet expenses and prevent the forced sale of assets to do so.
- Avoid problems for your loved ones by ensuring that the beneficiaries named on your life insurance and retirement plans are the people you want as your beneficiaries.
- Protect your family’s privacy with an estate plan designed to prevent your will from becoming public record.
- Set and meet expectations of your survivors so there is no confusion or misunderstanding.
Why you need an Estate Planning Attorney
You may be a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to other aspects of your financial life, but estate planning is one area where it is smart to get professional help. Among other things, the process can entail preparing a will, creating trusts, naming beneficiaries for insurance policies and retirement accounts, and selecting guardians for minor children. In addition, you may need to plan to minimize estate taxes.
Given the complexities, you’ll want to work with a qualified estate planning attorney. Depending on your situation, you may also find it helpful to work with other professionals, including a financial planner or investment manager, a trust officer, an insurance agent, or an accountant. Keep in mind, the attorney must be the one who drafts your estate planning documents.
Speak to an Estate Planning Attorney
If you would like to set up an estate plan, or if you would like to learn more about your estate planning options, contact us today. Please call us at (760) 673-7600 or schedule a consultation on our website.