Who gets your money and assets after you die, and how can you avoid the costs of probate? The answers to these questions and many more can be found in estate planning. But what exactly is estate planning? Well, It is the process of deciding what goes where and who gets what after you die. It means you can be sure that every past of your life will be accounted for.
It also includes who makes your medical and financial decisions for you if you become incapacitated. Many associate estate planning with the very wealthy, but in reality, estate planning is for almost everyone. In Salinas, the main reason behind the growth of probate litigation is poor estate planning documentation. Litigation happens when documents are unclear or invalid.
How Does Salinas Estate Planning Work
Creating a will is only a piece of what needs to happen. We recommend planning alongside family because after a family member passes, there is a lot to consider. Including family will let you make sure everyone is on board and understands how things will go. Whether you live in Salinas or not, hiring an estate planning attorney will ensure that all your affairs are in order before you pass on. Creating a General Durable Power of Attorney will ensure that you get to decide who is going to make property decisions for you. There are numerous factors and unknowns when it comes to estate planning. An experienced state planner will ask you the following questions regarding your desires for your life and those of your family members:
What is Estate Planning?
- Do you have minor children?
- Who will care for them after you go?
- Do you wish to pay for college, and for who?
- Do you want part or all of your assets to go to charity?
- Is your spouse or heir disabled?
- Do you need to consider any drug or alcohol abuse?
- Is there a history of Alzheimer’s or dementia?
- Who will make your medical and financial decisions for you if you become incapacitated?
- Do you wish to set up an inheritance or trust fund?
If your children are minors when you pass on, a trust and a will working together will make sure that the proper person ends up taking care of them. You should not leave this to chance, as their quality of life may suffer if you do. In addition, you have the final say as to whether you want to give to charity, how much you want to give and how you will split the money up if you want to give to multiple charities. If your spouse or heir is disabled, it is wise to set up all the plans for care before the event of your incapacitation or death. This will also assure a good quality of life for them.
Even if you are single with no children, you still have just as many things to consider as a couple does. You want to be sure you are comfortable with who makes your decisions if you become incapacitated and who gets your money and assets after you die. You can always change things in the future if you do get married or have children.
Estate planning is tedious when you try to do it yourself. Not to mention that you could end up getting it all wrong. Hiring an estate planning professional will streamline the process and make it a little less tedious. It will also make the process quicker and easier as well as help you to understand things like trusts, powers of attorney, and wills. Having a medical advanced directive is the only way to be sure that the doctors take proper care of you and someone you trust gets to make the financial and medical decisions if you become incapacitated somehow.
Protect Your Loved Ones, Develop A Plan
Mr. Ward’s clients are looking for estate planning In Salinas. He often counsels them during multigenerational meetings to protect their assets and themselves properly. By using specially designed estate planning techniques, Mr. Ward helps to protect clients and their families, and transfer all of their assets in the right way. Doing this entails a considerable amount of discussion as well as review of available options and alternatives. Flexibility in planning often suits the client’s needs best. Some things we can assume based on statistical average, however there are many cases that don’t follow this pattern. Proper estate planning takes this into account as it should.
Don’t wait any longer!
To receive your free initial consultation:
Call 800-JIM-WARD (800-546-9273)
Why Using a Professional Salinas Estate Planner is Important
Some questions are easily answered by one couple. At the same time, these questions may present obstacles to another couple that they cannot move past without a few days to think about it. Sometimes the client does not want the children to know anything about what is going on, and other times a client wants to consult with their grown children. In some cases, a client has accumulated substantial wealth and assets over a lifetime, and they don’t want anyone to be aware of it until after both parents have passed. There are differences in every case.
Estate planning is a very personal area of law practice. Every person and every family has their own stories, values, and wishes to consider for themselves and their beneficiaries. In addition, planning for health care and financial management in the event of incapacitation varies from person to person. Mr. Ward respects that and counsels clients on how he can help them achieve their goals and desires for their heirs and themselves in the best way possible.
Mr. Ward always takes the time to get to know his clients and their wishes personally to develop the understanding necessary to work for each client in the right way. In Salinas, our estate planning services are usually offered with a free initial consultation, and we can often provide basic guidance with just a phone call. We invite you to contact us when you are ready to see if there is anything we can assist you with.