One easy way to get over the stress and hurdles of estate planning in New York is to consult an estate planning attorney. Estate planning is a way of protecting yourself, your interest, assets etc. and ensuring your family, loved ones get covered and also protect. Estate planning is presumably one of the most urgent item that should be on your to do list. Thankfully, there is no later or earlier time to start, all you have to do is start now, while you can still afford to do so. Certain wrong perception about estate plans being only needed and available for the extremely wealthy or large family should be discarded. No matter what financial or medical situation you are, you should prepare to start making your estate plans.
Consider the following cases and see if you fit into these categories; you own and manage one or more businesses, you have minor children or you don’t have any children, you have a disabled family member, or you have one or more health issues, you are married, divorced or in a second marriage etc. Any of these above mentioned cases requires you make, estate plans, and with an estate planning New York attorney, you would make better and faster plans on your estate.
Planning now for the future with an estate attorney would never be regretted. Preparing now for the future over your financial and medical affairs would save you and your loved ones a whole deal of stress and troubles. One wrong document or inclusion or signatory could mean or signal a whole different thing and may jeopardize your wellbeing or your estates at risk of loss and probate with the beneficiary or trustee not getting it.
It is also important to note that state laws rules over estate plan. They dictates what should be included in will, trust or power of an attorney, this state laws in New York, also regulates how the documents are filed and its implementation.
STEPS TO BUILDING A GOOD ESTATE PLANS
The very first step to building a good estate plan is to determine your net worth. Calculating your net worth can be easy as you add up rough estimates of the values of all your assets including bank and investments accounts, properties like jewelry, collectibles, cars etc. retirement plans, 401ks, IRAs, death benefits of life insurance, business interests and real estates. To get the overall new worth, this sum total should be deducted from all your liabilities such as credit card debt, personal loans and mortgage.
Once you have calculated your net worth, you will need to figure out if your estate will be liable for federal estate taxes with the help of an estate planning attorney New York.
After evaluating your net worth, the next step is to assess your financial and family need for an estate plan and work on the appropriate estate planning document.
THERE ARE SEVERAL ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS
ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS
LIVING TRUST
One of the major benefit of documenting a living trust on your estate plan is elimination of probate process when distributing assets. . Through trust, you can have anyone whom you solely desire manage and make financial decisions over your assets both while you are alive or dead as well as when you become mentally incapacitated. Living trust provides clarity and certainty on your assets. It is however important to note that, all assets intended for your beneficiary should be passed into the trust to avoid probate.
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
A will based estate plan holds a detailed list of instructions as to how your property should be shared after you die. If you have minor children, it contains provision for appointing a guardian for your children.
With an experienced estate planning New York Attorney, you can start planning your estate today.
TWO TYPES OF TRUST
Revocable and irrevocable living trust. Both have key importance, however, consult with an estate planning New York attorney to make plans for the suitable trust.
ADVANCE MEDICAL DIRECTIVES
This is also known as medical or health care power of attorney. It is a legal document that expresses a person’s health care preferences for events where you are unable to make such decisions. A living will or advance medical directive document may be filed in court to should it be someone needs to be your guardian or conservator.
DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY
Also known as a financial power of attorney grants a person of your choice power to make key financial decisions for you when you are unable to do so. The duties of the appointed person may include, handling financial and legal claims, retirement and insurance issues, property management etc.