Many people believe that estate planning is developing a plan for after your death. That is a common misconception. At Lee Law Office, our Legacy Estate Planning process includes planning for unforeseen and unfortunate health events during your life as well as post-death planning. This allows us to have contingency plans in place for any event during your life as well as a structured plan for your estate after your death.
A growing number of our clients desire to include a Grandchildren Trust in their estate plan. This allows our clients to provide for distributions of assets to grandchildren. For example, a portion of the grandchild’s share of the Trust could be distributed when each grandchild reaches a specific age or life event (i.e. college graduation, marriage, etc). The possibilities are endless. A Granchildren Trust is another element of our Legacy Estate Planning. This could be something that may be of interest to you and we are happy to review those options when discussing developing your estate plan.
Estate planning is the creation of a definite plan for managing your wealth while you’re alive and distributing it after your death. These assets may be owned by you separately or jointly with others.
Estate planning is the preservation and the distribution of your assets, both during your life and upon your death. It is accomplishing your personal and family goals and easing the management of your financial and legal affairs, as well as minimizing taxes if your estate is large enough for taxes to be of concern. When we talk about an estate, we mean all assets of any value that you own, including real property, business interests, investments, insurance proceeds, personal property and even your personal effects. An “estate plan,” generally, refers to the means by which your estate is passed on to your loved ones on your death. Estate planning can be accomplished through a variety of methods, including:
- Revocable Living Trusts
- Last Will and Testament / Probate
- Lifetime Gifting
- Joint Ownership
- Beneficiary Designations
- Life Estates
Problems often arise when people don’t coordinate all of these methods of passing on their estate. If you have a well-drafted estate plan in place, you will ensure that your estate passes to whom you want, when you want, and is carried out in the manner you’ve chosen. You can rest assured that your family won’t have to endure the public process and costly matter of probate. The government won’t be able to take what you’ve spent a lifetime building. But you need to be aware of the many options that exist in estate planning – and you must choose your estate planning attorney wisely.
We want you to feel confident about the choices you make – let us be your guide on the path toward preserving your family’s future.
