An Estate Plan Is Needed Even If You Do Not Have Children

Individuals with children usually create an estate plan as the result of advice from financial advisor and estate attorney.  This is due to a sense of urgency and need to ensure there is a laid down plan to cater for the needs of their children in the event of an untimely demise. On the other hand, those without children tend to ignore the importance of having an estate plan, either because they feel it is not necessary or because they feel there is still a lot of time. Whatever the case, it is still importance to create an estate plan that will ensure the protection of your valued assets before and after your death.

You Determine Where Your Assets Go

When you are married with children, it is easy to solve the puzzle of who controls your assets even if that must be settled in court. However, if you fail to create an estate plan, you would be allowing the government to decide what to do with your assets when you pass away. The state courts will determine what happens to your assets in this case dying intestate. Even if you may not have children, you may want to share some of your valued assets with a charitable organization, religious body, a local support group, a foundation you create to award deserving students with scholarships, and other incentives. This will only be possible when you create an estate plan.

Crucial Medical Decisions

In the event of a car accident or a sudden illness that leaves you in an unstable condition, unable to decide the best medical procedure you prefer, you would want someone that can stand in. If you have an immediate family member or children, this responsibility easily falls their way. However, in the absence of an immediate family and without any healthcare directives or information regarding your willingness to accept certain procedures such as donation of organs, specialists are required to carry out only the typical medical care to sustain life. This procedure may involve keeping you on life-saving machines which could massively affect your hard-earned assets. You can never tell tomorrow’s possibilities, so it is important to create an estate plan as it can prevent a catastrophic situation in future.

Choosing a Professional

Although it is possible to create an estate plan without the help of a legal source, it might be ideal and in your best interest to work with an estate planning attorney to ensure the security and legality of the document and to avoid any issues in future. Even if you do not have children, an estate plan is an invaluable asset to make sure your desires are known.
Learn more about attorney Sean J. Nichols and the legal services he provides for clients including: estate planning, elder law issues, Medicaid planning, elder care, probate law, guardianships, and power of attorney (POA) at www.seanjnichols.com.  To contact the offices of Sean J Nichols, call 734.386.0224 today.

Risks of Not Having an Estate Plan

Don’t have an estate plan for your estate? Are you under the impression that such plans only exist for those with large estates that are well off? If this is your assumption it is false and holds no merit. In fact, an estate plan is the best thing you can do, no matter how large or small your estate is, to ensure the safety of your property, and the well-being of your loved ones. An estate plan is the best way to protect your assets from probate laws. In fact, not having an estate plan subjects your property to several risks and hazards. The following are a few harmful risks of not having an estate plan:

Asset Distribution

The main aspect of a will, trust, or an estate plan is asset distribution. With your estate plan you can tell your family and the law just how you want your property to be divided. If you do not declare the method in which your property is supposed to be divided, the court simply passes on the property to your closest relatives, spouse, and children respectively. This can lead to a number of conflicts arising amongst your family, especially if you have been married more than once or if you are divorced. Thus, to ensure that your assets are properly distributed you need to make an estate plan.

End-of-Life Care

An estate plan is not just concerned with property and asset distribution, it can be utilized for dictating your healthcare during your final days or during illnesses. Often, many people are incapacitated by illnesses in their final days and cannot properly make their opinions and demands heard. Using an estate plan, those affected by illnesses such as Alzheimer’s can dictate their family and friends and let them know their wishes through power of attorney. An estate plan ensures that you are not helpless and that you dictate your life even at the very end.

Challenges caused by probate laws

Probate laws deal with the changing ownership of property and every single dealing that goes into the changing of owners. Without an estate plan, the probate courts will seize your property and subject them to probate laws while your heirs helplessly look on. With an estate plan you will be able to give a proper outline or blueprint about how your property is supposed to be handled. Wills and estate plans might not exempt your assets from estate laws but forming trusts can. The execution of a trust as part of an estate plan is a huge step in ensuring your heirs get what you want them to.

Don’t have an estate plan yet? If not, you should get one as quickly as possible. We never know where life might lead us, and it is better to be prepared for adverse occurrences beforehand. Create your estate plan immediately to make sure that your assets are handled the way you want them to. An estate plan helps you dictate your own life right to the very end.

Learn more about attorney Sean J. Nichols and the legal services he provides for clients including: estate planning, elder law issues, Medicaid planning, elder care, probate law, guardianships, and power of attorney (POA) at www.seanjnichols.com.  To contact the offices of Sean J Nichols, call 734.386.0224 today.