The Benefits of Hiring a Good Estate Planning Attorney
A good estate planning attorney can help you make sure your money and property goes where you want it to, when you want it to. That’s because an estate plan is a set of legal documents that present your wishes regarding the distribution of assets, guardianship of minor children and even healthcare decisions. FindLaw’s mission is to connect you with a local, experienced estate planning lawyer to help you create a comprehensive plan that meets your specific needs.
An estate includes all of your possessions, including real estate, cars and other vehicles, life insurance policies, bank accounts, investments and personal property. The best estate planning lawyers in Chicago will help you understand how these things fit together and will work with you to create a personalized plan for the transfer of your assets and affairs.
During the estate planning process, attorneys consider your objectives, family relationships and charitable inclinations, as well as federal and state inheritance laws and the relationship of gift tax, death tax and generation skipping transfer laws to your goals. They also review your current tax situation and recommend strategies to achieve your goals. They may also help you with your trust administration, assisting you in the implementation of your plan.
The goal of estate planning is to put your affairs in order so that your loved ones do not have to go through the costly probate process after your death. The best way to avoid this is to put your assets in a trust, which will protect them from being lost through probate or from creditors. They can also help you reduce or eliminate taxes, which is important for those with substantial wealth.
Another benefit of an estate plan is to avoid conflict among your family members after your death. You can do this by clearly stipulating in your estate who gets what and when. It is not uncommon for family members to disagree about who should get certain items, especially if those items are very valuable. An estate plan can prevent these disputes by removing the decision-making power from your family members and putting it in the hands of trusted professionals.
An experienced attorney can also help you prepare for unforeseen circumstances, such as blended families and disabilities. For instance, you can set up special trusts for heirs with disabilities, which are structured in a way that allows them to continue receiving public assistance, such as social security disability benefits. Additionally, an attorney can help you create a health care power of attorney and/or health care proxies that will provide your loved ones with formal authority to make medical decisions on your behalf in the event you become incapacitated. This will allow your loved ones to avoid having to go through the difficult and expensive process of obtaining a conservatorship.