Most people after hearing the term estate planning think that it is just for the wealthy. People with a huge amount of money are the ones that care about what they pass on to others, don’t you think? While the billionaires and millionaires do have a knack for estate planning, they are not the only one that can benefit for a good estate plan. Yes, you non-billionaire can benefit from planning; you don’t have to be super-rich and successful in order to distribute the possessions that you have. In fact, estate planning has very little to do with being rich.
Planning Your Estate
When you are going through the process of estate planning, it would mean that you get to decide how the possessions of yours are going to be distributed after your death. There is no doubt that it will also decrease the burden that your loved ones have to take when they are making decisions such as property division. Regardless if you own a small co-op or a portfolio of building don’t you want to control who gets what?
List The Assets That You Have
Having a proper estate plan is an effective and efficient method to ensure that the whole process of estate planning goes smoothly. However, everything isn’t as easy as it seems. You need to make sure that you form a list of the things that you own. This could include real estate, investments, family heirlooms, bank accounts, vehicles, and so much more. You also need to ensure that you keep on updating this list of yours periodically. You can keep on adding the things that you acquire as your property.
Making A Will
This is definitely one of the most important things that you need to include in the process of estate planning. The will of yours would be the ultimate legal document that you need for the process. This written document would dictate the entire process of distribution of the property that you have after your passing. In case your death occurs before the creation of a will that is valid, the state law has the authority to govern the entire distribution process of the estate. Also, the state law can decide who is eligible or capable of becoming guardian of your children that are minors.
Update The Beneficiary Information
Here is the one important thing without which your estate planning process will definitely not be complete for sure. You need to make it a particular event annually to check as well as update the beneficiary information for sure. This can save your family and loved ones from probate costs and the additional burdens that come with it as well.
With a smart estate planning process, anyone would be able to do it in the best way. You don’t necessarily have to be rich as we have proved in the points above. All you need to do is have some property that can be distributed amongst the people who you love and trust. The process is entirely simple.
Having An Up-To-Date Estate Plan Is Important For All
Not just the wealthy people but commoners can take part in the estate planning procedure for. In fact, we are here to tell you that having an estate plan is important and efficient also is an essential part of one’s consideration when contemplation retirement. There are so many different benefits that one can get with the creation of a proper and effective estate plan. Here we are going to mention some of these right now.
- You can easily eliminate or minimize the estate taxes
- There is a scope for providing for the orderly family business succession in the best way
- It is the perfect plan which can be used for incapacity
- Your loved ones can avoid probate and the fees which are associated with it
- There will be no form of family discord since everything will be distributed legally according to the will
- It can potentially help in the preservation of the wealth throughout several generations
- Protection of assets from divorces, lawsuits, and creditors
Conclusion
Having an estate plan is not just important for the wealthy and rich but for mediocre property owners as well. This helps in establishing proper relationships between your loved ones and settles property distributions after your death. Hence call us to schedule your consultation with one of our estate planning attorney’s to see how a proper estate plan can best benefit you.
