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What Are the Benefits of Having an Estate Plan?
You may not be sure whether having an estate planning attorney is in your best interests or necessary. However, suppose you do not plan for the worst and determine how your estate will be handled before you pass away. In that case, your estate will fall under North Carolina intestate laws, which means the state will remain in control of your assets and how they are distributed.
This could mean your assets are distributed in a way you would not have determined, cause strife among family members, and cause a loss of inheritance due to estate taxes. Having qualitative estate plans means you can decide how your estate is handled.
You can determine how your children will be taken care of, who will be responsible for them once they start receiving distributions from your estate, and ensure they have a steady income stream for the rest of their lives. While you still have the physical and mental capacity to make these decisions, now is the time. Our family lawyers in Angier are here to help.
Our Angier Estate Planning Legal Services
With Breeden Law Office working for you, you can set up thorough estate plans to protect your family, help you avoid probate, and ensure your documents are correctly completed. That way, they are legally valid and enforceable upon your passing.
Here are some of the top estate planning services we offer:
Wills Help Prevent Confusion
Learn how our Angier estate planning attorneys can help you approach creating a will and how it can make your life easier.
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Wills
Your will determines how your property and assets will be distributed to beneficiaries after you pass away. Your estate planning attorney in Angier will help draft your will in accordance with North Carolina estate laws. The benefits of having a will are undeniable. They include:
- Being able to determine who takes control of your family business
- Being able to avoid having your estate go through probate
- Reducing unnecessary tax implications
- Ensuring you have designated the financial support and care of your dependent or minor children
Trusts
Trusts allow you to avoid having your estate go through probate and be subject to taxes. By setting up a trust, you are placing your assets into a trust with a designated beneficiary.
Then, the trustee of your choosing will be responsible for managing the assets within the trust, handling beneficiary disbursements, and acting in the trust’s best interests. You can discuss how revocable and irrevocable trusts work when you go over your estate plans in further detail with your attorney.
Power of Attorney
It is crucial to make important medical and financial decisions now in case you cannot do so in the future. It would be best if you assigned a power of attorney who can make these decisions on your behalf. Your medical or healthcare power of attorney makes vital medical decisions.
This might include keeping you on or removing you from life-support or other extenuating measures. Your durable power of attorney handles all of your estate’s financial matters. This might include paying monthly household expenses, handling investment and retirement savings accounts, and other relevant financial decisions.
Guardianship
When you become critically ill or pass away, assigning your dependent or minor children guardianship is crucial. Otherwise, the court system would need to decide who will be responsible for caring for your children until they reach legal age or are physically capable of doing so. Your Angier estate planning lawyer can help you select the best guardian to protect your children and their future.
Probate
No one wants their estate to go through probate. Your estate planning attorney can handle your estate as described in your will and other estate plans through estate management and administration. If your estate plans are thorough, going through probate can be much easier than having many unanswered questions or concerns.
Business Succession Planning
If you built or purchased a business, business succession planning is crucial to your estate plans. If you become suddenly ill or pass away, having robust business succession plans in place can help reduce the chaos of ownership transfers and help your business remain open and prosperous despite your death.
Related Estate Planning Topics
What Assets Should You Include in Your Estate Plan?
Your estate planning lawyer will help you determine which assets should be included in your estate plans. Some of the most common assets to consider include:
- Bank account proceeds
- Life insurance policies
- Trust assets and distributions
- Personal property
- Real estate
- Collectibles and valuables
- Retirement savings account distributions
Other Things to Consider When Planning Your Estate
In addition to selecting a power of attorney, assigning guardianship, and creating a well, there are multiple other considerations to remember when working on your estate plans.
Life Insurance
Adding a life insurance policy to your estate plans may be in your best interest if you are the primary person supporting your family financially. When you pass away, your life insurance policy financially supports your dependents. This way, dependents can continue to cover household expenses, avoid financial distress, and be prepared to cover unexpected costs, such as estate taxes.
Keep Documents Safe
After completing your estate plans, make sure you obtain copies of these documents for your estate planning attorney and the administrator of your estate. You should also keep these documents in an accessible but safely stored area, such as a personal safe. Keep your estate plans out of a safety deposit box, as these may not be easily accessed after you pass away.
Funeral Arrangements
Do not forget to include your funeral arrangements as part of your estate plans. You can set up a payable-on-death account to ensure that your funeral costs are fully funded in advance. You should also include instructions on whether you want a funeral, whether you want to be cremated or buried, and any other wishes you have regarding how your death should be handled.
How Our Estate Planning Attorneys in Angier Help You
There’s no time like the present to begin thinking about estate planning options. Without a will in place, you have no input over what happens to your home and personal property when you die. Even during your lifetime, you may become incapacitated due to illness or injury. Unless you make proper arrangements with a power of attorney, there may be significant uncertainty about your health care and financial decisions.
Having an estate planning attorney on your side is crucial as you plan for the future. Our estate planning lawyers at Breeden Law Office are here to help you:
- Control who manages your finances, medical decisions, and assets
- Control how your assets are managed and when beneficiaries can access benefits
- Determine how often assets can be distributed
- Select beneficiaries and heirs
- Set your family up for generational wealth
CALL BREEDEN LAW OFFICE TODAY:
(919) 809-6599Hear from Our Clients
Breeden Law offered exceptional service. I felt extremely comfortable talking with Jonathan and the office staff was pleasant and organized.
Mr. Breeden was very professional. He gave me honest input regarding possible outcomes of my case. He was very responsive when I had a question and when responding to emails. He knows custody law very well and got me exactly what I wanted with regards to my case. I would definitely use him again if needed.
A custody battle is never easy; even harder when you are a grandparent seeking custody. Jonathan Breeden handled our case with great diligence, but oh so delicately. I received full, permanent custody, with no harsh feelings from any parties concerned. Together with Jonathan, there was even suitable visitation arrangements made.