“We always place estate planning on the back-burner. It’s usually because it pertains to a subject we all have a hard time talking about – our own mortality.”
When it comes to administering your assets, it is best to organize every single detail. With the rising life expectancy, it’s easy to assume you can avoid making these uncomfortable plans until a later date. This mistake costs many Americans millions of dollars in unnecessary, unplanned pay-outs every year.
As with most things, advance preparation guarantees the best results – the earlier in life you seek expert advice, the better chance you have of your vision of asset distribution becoming reality. Hiring an estate planning lawyer from Austin LRS would enable you to circumvent a highly complex legal process – a process that regularly leaves laypeople and their families worse off. Here we have comprised a list of deadly mistakes people make with when planning how to best distribute their estate.
1. Not Seeking Professional Advice
Going into the process without assistance from an estate planning lawyer is akin to not having any plan at all. We have a highly complex legal system in the U.S – comprised of nearly 300 years worth of litigation. Let’s not forget it undergoes constant change. Only specialists like the highly-qualified lawyers at Austin LRS know how to fully navigate the nuances and ever-changing nature of estate planning law.
2. Failing to Regularly Update Asset Ownership
Perhaps you still have an old flame or business partner’s name attached to an asset or are yet to add a new child? If asset ownership isn’t updated regularly, you might not get the most out of recent tax-cuts. At worst your finances could fall into entirely the wrong hands, simply because you didn’t enlist help from estate planning experts.
3. Failure to Address Asset Ownership Imbalances
It can be extremely difficult to address matters of mortality and how you are going to fairly distribute your wealth among your beneficiaries, however, the decisions are not going to make themselves. In the event you do not make a will, the state decides your asset distribution. By working out a plan with Austin LRS, you can be certain your assets are divided the way you see fit and their estate planning lawyers can be certain your beneficiaries get their full share.
4. Not Having a Residuary Clause
The state has the option to make a lot of money from people who do not include a ‘residuary clause’ in their will – especially for those without children. This is the clause that indicates who will receive the leftover portion of the testator’s estate. The clause kicks in once all obligations and debts are distributed. By adding your desired recipients to this clause, you control all of your assets.
5. Not Exploring the Option of a Living Trust
Having a watertight plan is the only way to ensure your family and assets are looked after the way you want. A living trust is a legal arrangement whereby assets are put into a trust and a designated person is appointed to manage them on yours and your beneficiaries’ behalf. This is particularly useful alongside a will in case you become incapacitated and can no longer manage your own finances. Instead of a court appointing someone to oversee your assets, you choose whoever can continue to do this for you.
These are the most common mistakes. However, there’s a whole minefield of litigation to tiptoe around with estate planning. Get in touch with Austin LRS today to take full control over the future of your assets.
