It’s sad but true that many of us spend more time planning a vacation than what we do when planning who will inherit your estate. While we understand that estate planning is not as fun, but there are some strong reasons you can’t afford to ignore estate planning. In fact, if you have been ignoring estate planning thinking that it’s only for the rich, in this post we give you not one, but four important reasons as to why estate planning is a must for those who plan to pass on their estate to their loved ones.
In such cases, the law has several provisions for the affected person, four of which we will discuss in this blog post. Read on.
1. To avoid any mess
Have you seen a friend or a relative spending a lot of time at an estate planning attorney’s office, or pitted against their family members just because their deceased loved one failed to make an estate plan? If you want to avoid the mess of your loved ones running from pillar to post, or indulging in family fights because of lack of clarity of who gets what, after you are gone, then seek help of an estate planning attorney as soon as possible.
2. To avoid a probate
Probate is a court supervised process wherein the court decides if the will left by a descendant was the most recent one signed by them. It’s a lengthy process that drains the beneficiaries or heirs of their time, money, and energy. Hire an estate planning attorney to ensure that your loved ones don’t have to deal with a probate. Trust us, your loved ones are going to love you for that.
3. To reduce estate taxes
Do you know the federal and state estate taxes along with the inheritance tax can create huge tax pressure on your loved ones after you are gone? As the taxes are high and need to be paid in cash, most beneficiaries cannot afford to pay these taxes. As a result the beneficiaries end up liquidating their assets or the estate to pay them. By hiring an estate planning attorney you can reduce or even eliminate the taxes that your heirs might be required to pay.
Related Post: Living Trust vs Will: Which Do You Need?
4. To protect your assets
After you are gone, chances are that some unforeseen creditors may file a lawsuit making a claim on your assets. Since you won’t be there to defend your cases, there’s a high probability that the court may give a judgment in the creditor’s favor. To avoid this you can get in touch with an estate planning attorney to help you protect your assets through an asset protection planning process. The process involves repositioning your assets as exempt assets that are out of reach of any creditor’s claims.
Last Few Words
Estate planning is all about protecting your loved ones from the issues involved in inheriting their deceased loved one’s estate. If you too want to protect your loved ones and are looking for an estate planning attorney in Austin, look no further than Austin LRS. We at the Austin Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) can help you connect with a trusted estate planning attorney in Austin. We will make sure you get an appropriate lawyer referral and the best possible legal assistance. To get in touch with us, fill out our contact form or call us directly at 512-472-8303, toll-free 866-303-8303.
