Good Fences And Not So Good Neighbors: Property Law 101

Preparing An Estate Plan For Your Family

11 March 2021 by Hunter Moore

Estate planning is an important step for protecting your survivors against the complexities of navigating inheritance laws and probate court. As with other types of legal proceedings, a person will need to have a firm understanding of a few key topics before they are able to effectively navigate this process.

Plan For Any Debts That May Be Owed

It is important to understand that the debts that are owed by you may impact the assets that you are able to leave behind. For example, if you have used major assets to secure loans or other types of financing, these assets may have to be used to settle the outstanding debt. As a result of the impact that debts could have, you should conduct a thorough financial assessment so that you can effectively plan for these situations.

Limit The Time Between Updating The Estate Plan

An estate plan is a document that should be regularly updated so that it will always accurately reflect your current financial situation as well as the preferences that you have for your assets. While some individuals may assume that this document should only be updated after major financial changes, it is also wise to review it every year or two. This will ensure that you know the contents of the plan as well as give you a chance to potentially notice mistakes or things that you would like changed. The amount of time needed for this review will be minimal, and most people will find that they can complete this assessment in as little as a few hours.

Work With An Estate Planning Attorney To Create And Update Your Plan

Estate planning is a complicated task that can leave many individuals confused. Unfortunately, mistakes that are made during the course of creating or updating this plan can have long-lasting impacts as it may prevent your survivors from being able to make a smooth transition following your passing. As a result of this complexity and the consequences of serious problems occurring, you should always retain a professional estate planning service or attorney to assist you with these steps. These services can be very affordable, and they will be able to answer your questions as well as complete the actual work needed to prepare these plans and to file them with the court. This can allow you to spend as little time as possible tending to this complicated and unpleasant matter while still having confidence that it has been correctly done.

Contact a local estate planning lawyer to learn more.

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