Next Week, October 15-21, is National Estate Planning Awareness Week!
Antheil Maslow & MacMinn encourages you to use this as an opportunity to discuss estate planning with your family, your attorney, and your other professional advisors. To help get you started, during National Estate Planning Awareness Week we will be posting on a number of important estate planning issues. As a Prologue, I'll talk today about what estate planning is, why it is important, and what it involves.
We spend most of our lives working hard to earn money and accumulate wealth so our needs, and the needs of our families and loved ones, are met. “Estate planning” involves the organization of your financial and legal affairs so that when you die your family and loved ones continue to benefit (in the manner you choose) from the assets and wealth you have accumulated.
Incomplete, or improper, estate planning can have devastating results. The wrong people may inherit your property, family members may be required to go to court to obtain guardianships, and otherwise avoidable taxes may be paid. In addition, the costs of dealing with these issues after death can deplete the assets you intended to benefit your loved ones. Of course, poor planning can also increase the likelihood of disputes between beneficiaries, and destroy previously healthy and happy family relationships.
Proper estate planning, on the other hand, ensures that your beneficiaries receive the property you want them to have, in the manner you intend them to have it. It reduces the cost of administration by organizing your property, and its disposition, in advance. It provides protections to avoid unnecessary court intervention, costs, and taxes. And, while estate planning cannot solve long standing family issues, it can provide clear guidance on your intent and goals which can reduce the chances those issues will lead to litigation over your estate.
Proper estate planning requires that you know what property you own, how much it is worth, how you own it, and how it is legally disposed of at death. As a result, there are almost always some financial planning and accounting issues to deal with in the process. Qualified and trusted financial advisors and CPAs are great resources and should be part of your estate planning team.
Attorneys are critically important advisors in the estate planning process, because it requires the structuring, drafting, and coordination of the numerous legal documents which can affect the disposition of your property. The most basic document involved is your Will, but it is not the only document you need to consider. Other documents which may need to be reviewed, created, or changed include: trusts, deeds, account ownership and beneficiary designation forms, insurance policies, employment and business agreements, and even vehicle titles and documentation on your tangible personal property. The interaction of these documents can be very complicated, and ad hoc planners and do-it-yourselfers often create more problems than they solve. The value of a good estate planning attorney is in the advice, planning, and coordination of the overall estate plan, not just the drafting of documents.
Of course, proper and complete estate planning should also address the possibility that you may become incapacitated before you die. To address the issues related to your finances, your health care, and your end-of-life decisions an estate plan should include Powers of Attorneys, Health Care Powers of Attorney, and a Living Will (Advanced Directive for Heath Care).
See the rest of this series: Beneficiary Designations; Joint Ownership of Property; Estate Planning for Young Adults.
If you have questions about estate planning in general, or would like to meet with us about creating, changing, or just updating your estate plan, or are interested in learning about transfer tax planning, please contact Tim White or one of our other estate planning attorneys to schedule a consultation.