Your estate is the totality of your possessions (your personal and real property). Estates include assets such as business buildings, homes, land and money, interest in such properties, and personal effects such as antiques and jewelry. A person’s estate also includes their debts and taxes. In estate planning, a person sets forth how their assets and debts are to be distributed after their death.
Estate Planning: When Should you Start?
Your estate planning should correlate with your marital status and age. For instance, if you are unmarried, young and without children, you don’t need to start planning your estate unless you are very wealthy or terminally ill. If you are young and married with children, early estate planning by Casement Law Group P.C. will ensure that your children and spouse are taken care of in the event of your sudden death.
If you are retired, elderly or living in an unmarried domestic partnership, having an estate plan is essential. In most states, non-spouses cannot inherit from their life partner’s estate if they are not named in the will. An estate planning lawyer can help you distribute your assets as you see fit.
Making Your Estate Plan
Depending on your life circumstances and your age, your estate plan may vary. However, it should cover the basics:
*Value and identification of assets
*Distribution to beneficiaries
*Allocation of real property
*Naming of beneficiaries
*Health care, life insurance and organ donation
*Guardianship of children
*Power of attorney
*Payment of debts
*Funeral arrangements
If you die intestate (lacking a will) or if you do not address a concern in your estate plan, your case will be forced into probate court. These proceedings are expensive and time-consuming, and your assets may not be distributed as you wish.
Hiring an Estate Planning Attorney
