The main reason for undertaking an estate plan is to make sure assets are inherited by the right people, while attracting little tax. The best way to plan for these certainties, namely death and taxes, is through designing an estate plan. Ideally, a lawyer is recommended to help with the planning. An Estate Planning Attorney great neck will play a large part in ensuring the estate plan is up-to-date and reflects your wishes correctly. Even if you have a few assets, a plan can save your family, friends and other beneficiaries a lot of heartache. Otherwise it can take an incredibly long period to sort out your financial affairs.
Nature of the plan
An estate plan consists of a set of documents that assists to plan for certainties. These documents help avoid the beneficiaries problems upon your death. Many of these problems are hardly thought about during life or often leave people overwhelmed. However, without an estate plan these issues would have to be resolved by the state laws and courts. Therefore, a well prepared estate plan will help decide the best way assets should be shared between the beneficiaries, including who should receive a certain piece of property and how much should go to a charitable organization.
State laws
The state law exists to distribute assets regardless of an individual's wish. However, state laws are evoked when someone dies without having written a will. When the state law is evoked, it may surprise you, but not all the assets are given to the surviving spouse. In some states the court award between one-third and one-half of the assets to the surviving spouse. The rest of the assets are then shared between other family members. The state law does not consider personal relationships or a person's preferences. Therefore, a will is the most effective defense against such an indifferent law. It ensures a relatively simple and easy way of passing one's property to other generations. A will allows an individual to direct whether the spouse should inherit the entire estate or which child should get which piece of property or which organization should receive some support.
Naming guardians
Estate planning helps with the naming of guardians. This is particularly important if you have minor children who may not be in a position to take care of themselves in the event of the death of both parents. In the event of such a case, the law requires the court to appoint someone who is in a position to take care of the children. Nonetheless, a court's decision on these matters may not be as good as the parent(s) own choice. A will allows couples the fundamental decision to decide who will care for the children without interference from the courts which may not know your children or the needs of your children.
