For instance, you may request not to be hooked up to feeding tubes and breathing machines. A living will is slightly different and is used to articulate how you wish to be cared for if you are severely compromised medically. Probate is a very expensive and time consuming process that eats away from the estate and highly enriches attorneys. A will simply serves as a backup to a living trust. A major downside to a will is that the will needs to be probated so we never use a will by itself. It is a flexible and all-encompassing document, generally hitting on several main points: naming an executor (also known as a personal representative), what happens to any assets left outside the living trust, and who will care for your children. A final Will is part of your estate planning strategyĪ will can provide for many different things you wish to see happen after passing. For instance, a trust can designate that a child is to receive periodic distributions over time, as opposed to all of the assets all at once when they turn eighteen. Trusts can also be a useful tool to protect children and ensure they have the motivation to achieve their own goals. If a beneficiary has problems with substance abuse or managing money, the trust can take this into account and have provisions that enable the beneficiary to get assistance and care. For example, living trusts can protect the beneficiaries from themselves. Each family is different and a living trust is a great tool to use to plan for each beneficiary in accordance with your wishes. Living trusts are very flexible and the detail with which you choose to leave instructions can be thorough and unique. As the name suggests, the trust lives on even after you pass! Since the trust holds and owns all of your assets there is no need for probate when you die. Trusts can hold many different types of assets, including titles, money, stock, real estate, and also business interests. A trust is simply an agreement in which a designated trustee holds onto assets or wealth for the intended beneficiary. Trusts are the best way to be sure your estate and assets will transfer effectively and the way you see fit while avoiding the high cost and lengthy time associated with probate. Establish the Trusts needed based on your estate plan strategy By starting from the top down, you are completing the process of accessing your assets from the most important to the items of lesser importance. You will also need to determine how and when you will want your assets distributed and to whom.
You can start by planning how you will protect, manage, and transfer your largest assets first, thereby managing the largest pockets of wealth first and making sure that these assets will benefit your heirs. Another suggestion before beginning to investigate your planning is to think about what strategy you will take in creating your estate plan. Assess your assets and strategizeĪs a general framework, it is important to think about and clarify what forms of property and what assets you have acquired and the impact they will have upon your beneficiaries. The best plan you can create will ultimately relieve stress for you and your family, allow for clear communication, and leave space for people to process a changing family dynamic as one generation transitions to the next.
Starting a plan early will allow you to become familiar with your options so that you can continue to change your estate plan as your family grows and matures. So if your life and assets change, your plan can change. Establish the Trusts needed based on your strategyĪn estate plan is rigid upon your death, but it is malleable while you are alive.So What Is The Best Way To Establish An Estate Plan?
Setting up a plan now can reduce anxiety about the future of your family and mitigate the tremendous effects that a sudden death or failing health of an individual can have on a family and community. There is so much that the legal system provides to ensure our assets and property continue to benefit our friends and families throughout generations. When most people first think about estate planning, a will and testament may come to mind, however, this is archaic thinking. To many people, the long-term planning of an estate begins when they realize that there are assets they want to pass on to others.