Understanding Why Estate Planning is Important

Death is an unwelcome guest in many people’s lives but it still happens. The more reason you should allocate some time and resources to plan for your estate just like you plan for your vacation, and other life investments like buying a home or a car. Estate planning is a sure way to determine who should inherit your estate when you die. It is weightier than it sounds as your estates could be what you have worked for all your lifetime. Get started with understanding why estate planning is important:

Estate Planning Can Protect Your Beneficiaries

You do not want to imagine that one day when you die your children and spouse or other key relatives can end up not enjoying what you labored for while you were alive. While people initially viewed estate planning as an activity for high-end individuals, it is not the case today.  Provided you have an estate, you need to plan for it so that your loved ones can benefit from it even in your absence. Based on the advice given by the Atlanta estate law center, you should consult estate planning legal experts to help you write a will that is inclusive of all the people you want to benefit from your estate while you are dead. Legal experts can also help you make a perfect distribution of your wealth among your relatives based on your personal preferences otherwise the court can distribute it in such a manner that you would not advocate for if you were alive.  Having an estate plan can also protect your unborn children and their loved ones even while you will be long dead. By naming the guardians of those children in your will, you can secure the children’s future. 

Estate Planning Can Spare Your Heirs Unnecessary Taxes

Estate planning is more about your heirs than it is about yourself. With the proper guidance of a qualified and experienced estate planning attorney, you can protect your beneficiaries from the internal revenue service fees charged by your respective state. As you transfer your assets to your heirs you can strategically do so while reducing the possible tax burden they can bear. With estate planning, you can also reduce the federal and state estate inheritance taxes if they shouldn’t pay. There are also strategies under estate planning that you can use to reduce the amount of income tax your beneficiaries will have to pay. Without a proper estate plan, your beneficiaries can pay unimaginable amounts of tax. Discuss this with your attorney so that you can plan accordingly.

An Estate Can Prevent Family Wrangles

In the recent past, family inheritance wrangles have been on the rise, and often they do not end up well. You can spare your family this by planning your estate. You can decide who should take what percentage of your wealth when you die so that the same can be used to distribute your wealth to all the people whom you want to benefit from the same. With an estate plan, you can choose who should control your finances and assets anytime you become mentally incapacitated to make informed decisions and at worse when you die. You can also clarify in your estate plan how your assets should be handled if you do not want them to be distributed among individuals and this can still prevent conflicts among your family members as every one of them shall abide by your will. Furthermore, with an estate plan, you can define further individualized plans if the need arises. For instance, you can arrange for a child with health challenges or even establish a trust for one of your children that you are confident can be better off if he/she does not receive a huge amount of your asset finances. An estate plan can help you be biased to the child you love the most. Likewise, if you have more than one spouse or children with a woman or man that is not known to your current family, you can also accord them some benefits on your estate plan.

Establishing an estate plan is a wise thing to do if you want your assets and finances to be enjoyed and controlled by your loved ones anytime you become mentally unfit and when you die. An estate plan is also a good strategy to prevent your loved ones from being charged avoidable inheritance taxes. Furthermore, with an estate plan, you can decide how you want your assets to be distributed among all your beneficiaries so that the court does not randomly distribute your assets when you die.  An estate plan is a good thing if you want to prevent your family from falling apart because of wrangling over your assets and money when you die. Ensure you involve an experienced estate planning attorney to guide you through the process of developing a perfect estate plan. Likewise, ensure you are involved in the process so that you are sure of the content of your plan.