Why You Need An Attorney For Your Estate Planning
Planning an estate is essential for everyone, even if you do not think you have many assets. When you die without your personal affairs in order, there can be costly issues left behind for your loved ones to deal with. While there are some free estate planning tools that some choose to utilize, you really need an attorney to plan your estate accordingly. Here are some things you should consider before you do a DIY estate plan:
Probate Issues
The point of an estate plan is to ensure the estate is dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible. Probate can last a long time, sometimes years, which prevents your heirs from having access to the assets you left them. Probate is also costly and is a matter of public record if you have concerns about privacy.
Dependent Complications
If you have any dependents, you need to make sure your children will go to who you want to care for them. If you do your own estate planning, there is a possibility that you could make a mistake and your children will not go to your desired guardians.
Your attorney will ensure your dependents go to those you choose. They can help you set up your estate so that they are financially cared for while they are minors using the assets from your estate. Your attorney can help you set up trusts to use only for the care of your children.
Family Disputes
When your estate plan is handled by an attorney, there are no questions as to where your assets go at the time of your death. This means the likelihood of any disputes in your family is drastically lower. If you do your own estate plan, you could leave the door open to disagreements and potential fights.
No matter how well your family gets along now, the possibility of disagreements when it comes to the execution of your estate is higher. For example, if you have an expensive diamond ring you want to leave for your niece and you only told your niece verbally, the immediate next of kin could argue your niece's claim that she should have it because you did not include it in your estate plan.
You get what you pay for when you plan your estate. Estate plans are different for everyone, so it is not ideal to use a general template found for free for your planning. It is always best to have a probate attorney go over your estate before you make it official.