Do You Need an Estate Planning Attorney?

When you pass on, you want to take care of your family to the best of your ability. By planning your estate early in life, you help guarantee that your assets are handled the way you want them to be after you’re gone. An estate planning attorney will help you organize all of your information, write up your will, and ensure that everything is followed per your instructions. Working with an attorney is the best way to secure your intentions once you pass.

Writing a Will

Creating a will is the main basis of most estate planning actions. A will determines what happens to the bulk of your estate once you pass. It determines who will inherit your property and assets. It can also dictate who will become legal guardians of minor children, should the situation arise. Having a will is an important part of maintaining your legacy. An estate planning attorney can help create your will. They can also address your concerns and take care of your needs. Your attorney can also act as your executor. This way, they enact the terms of your will as fully as possible.

Creating Trusts

When it comes to enacting a will, there is a certain lengthy time period where courts have to prove its legitimacy. This can hold up your assets and accounts. Money in a trust, however, avoids probate. Lawyers can release funds to the trustees as soon as they reach the terms of the trust (such as upon one’s death). An attorney can help you set up trust accounts and ensure the terms benefit your trustees.

Appointing Power of Attorney

When you fall seriously ill or become incapacitated, you need someone who will act on your behalf. Naming a power of attorney allows you to rest easy that your life and assets will be well handled if you become unable to handle them yourself. Many choose a family member or close friend to trust with this power. It’s someone who knows them and will act as they would want.

There are different types of a power of attorney. They can work for either your general assets, business assets, or specific assets. Your estate planning attorney can help you appoint your power of attorney. They will help ensure that they are the ones to act on your behalf should the situation arise.

Creating a Health Care Directive

You don’t only need to worry about what happens to you or your assets after you’re gone. When you fall ill, you want to make sure you take care of your healthcare plan as well. Terminal illness and incapacitation make it difficult, and often impossible, for someone to advocate for their wants and needs. An attorney can help you declare who will make healthcare decisions on your behalf should you suffer any illness of those varieties. Much like a power of attorney, this person will act on your behalf. They ensure that your medical needs and desires are taken care of.

Updating Beneficiary Designations

In your retirement plan, you’ll have beneficiaries listed. They are the ones who will receive money from your retirement account if you pass away. These beneficiary designations supersede anything in your will, so it’s important to keep them up-to-date and current with your plans. An attorney can help you ensure that your beneficiary designations match what you have set in your will each time you choose to update it. This way, you maintain your legacy, and only those you want to receive your assets will.

Tyler, Texas Estate Planning Attorney

It’s never too early to start planning your estate. Even if you only have a few assets, you want to make sure they are handled well in your passing. Working with an estate planning attorney helps ensure that your assets are handled properly, and your medical concerns are handled by the right people. With the help of the Hager Law Firm, you can rest easy knowing that your estate is in order. We will handle everything per your instructions after you pass. For help with all things estate planning, call the Hager Law Firm today at (903) 466-0001.