People work themselves out to provide for their families and accumulate wealth and be comfortable in life. However, it’s imperative to note that a time usually comes when you cannot protect yourself, your family, and your assets. At this point, you prepare for such an eventuality and hire the services of an estate planning attorney.
The estate planning attorney protects your autonomy and assets when you are alive and further protects your family after you are gone. It is crucial to ensure you have a good plan recognized legally.
1. Estate Planning Attorney
An estate planning lawyer is a person who concentrates in the area of legal disciplines that deal with estate and trusts, as well as wills and probate laws. Estate planning lawyers may also be involved in marriage agreements, divorce settlements, buy and sell contracts, appointment powers, and knowledge about income, estate inheritance, gifts, taxation, wills, trusts, and property rights.
Estate planning lawyers understand the applicable laws of economic groupings such as small businesses in family investment strategies. It could be possible for a client to have a new will written by an estate planning lawyer or help draw up a trust or obtain guardianship for children.
2. Roles of Estate Planning Attorney
- Estate planning lawyers advise clients on the tax effects of financial and asset management strategies such as trusts, life insurance, and annuities.
- An Estate Planning Lawyer helps with the time-sensitive matter of establishing trusts for clients who wish to leave a legacy for their family when they pass. The Estate Planning Lawyer helps clients keep their assets away from government authority or anything else that might interfere with their wishes and goals for designating money, property, and other assets after they die.
You can learn more here about other essential roles of an estate planning lawyer.
3. After Death
- When a death occurs, an estate planning lawyer is usually called upon to settle the details of an estate according to state law and help administer assets according to the will.
- It is also crucial for an estate planning lawyer to ensure that they pay any taxes and other fees due at death before releasing funds from an estate into a client’s control.
- An Estate Planning Lawyer assists clients in making their estates last after they pass away. An estate planning lawyer can help manage and maintain a client’s assets, whether business, real estate, or personal property. An estate planning lawyer will also help ensure that anyone named in the client’s will can act on their behalf should they become incapacitated.
4. Establishing Trusts
An estate planning lawyer helps communicate, establish and protect trusts so that clients can provide for their heirs and beneficiaries.
5. The Last will
Allows one to bestow their assets to specific people or entities to protect their children and assets from being dispersed. Therefore, the Estate Planning lawyer ensures that the client’s living trust intentions come to fruition after death. If there is any doubt about a client’s wishes, then the last will states it so that there can be no misunderstandings
6. Estate Trustee
An estate trustee is the executor of the will and your estate trustee. If a client has no one in mind, then the state can appoint one for them. The Estate trustee works with the lawyer to ensure that the will achieves its intended purpose.
Conclusion
Lastly, make sure that the lawyer grasps your goals and is willing to draft a customized will for you so that what happens upon your death matches up with your wishes. The estate planning lawyer makes it his priority to help people avoid such confusion. Plan when you are alive so that your loved ones can live well when you are gone—plan for your loved ones when you are living for them to live well when you are gone.
