None of us can predict with any certainty what tomorrow will bring. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought this into stark reality; surely none of us imagined, six months ago, that we’d soon be holed in up quarantine.
Estate planning provides a way to live with this uncertainty. It affords you some basic tools for ensuring your end-of-life wishes are carried out, and your assets properly dispersed following your death. Most importantly, perhaps, it gives you a way of making sure your loved ones are taken care of even after you go.
An estate planning attorney can help you ensure that all the right provisions are in place to safeguard the people you care about; and that’s just the beginning of what they can do.
Who Gets What?
It’s sometimes assumed that estate planning is all about determining who gets what when you die. That’s certainly part of it. A good estate planning lawyer will help you develop a will that accounts for all your monetary assets and distributes them according to your wishes.
But that’s only part of the story. Even a carefully drafted will may still land your assets in probate court, which can mean hassle for your beneficiaries, and also a compromise to your confidentiality. Additionally, without the input of an estate planning attorney, your assets may be leveled by the estate tax, meaning you won’t be able to leave your beneficiaries with as much as you’d like.
A good estate planning attorney can advise you on using wills, trusts, and advanced tax strategy to navigate each of these issues.
Your End of Life Wishes
Even beyond the question of who gets what, an estate planning law firm can provide some key services for you.
For instance, have you ever thought about what would happen if you became medically incapacitated, unable to speak up or to voice your wishes about medical care? If you fell into a coma, for example, would you want to be left on life support indefinitely?
Estate planning provides a number of tools for addressing this anxiety. Healthcare directives and powers of attorney can help you outline your wishes, and make sure your voice is heard even when you can’t actively speak up on your own behalf.
These provisions can provide peace of mind to you and to your loved ones, who will be glad to have a clear sense of what you really want. And again. An estate planning attorney can help you out here.
Other Issues for Your Estate Planning Law Firm
There are still further ways in which an estate planning attorney can help you. Consider some examples:
- Estate planning helps you clarify who will be the guardian for your minor children, should something happen to you and your spouse or co-parent.
- Estate planning also provides some ways to leave a legacy endowment to a school, charity, or non-profit that you support.
- An estate planning attorney can help you administer your trust or appoint the right person to serve as trustee.
- A good estate planning lawyer will also be vigilant in helping you keep your estate plan totally up to date, checking in regularly to see if revisions are needed.
These are just a few of the things to consider alongside your estate planning lawyer.
If you’re looking for a qualified and experienced estate planning professional in the State of California, reach out to our team today. Singh Law Firm is one of the most highly regarded estate planning resources around. We’d love to chat with you about any of your goals or your needs.
