Tips For Successful Estate Planning
Estate plans are an important part of your end-of-life plan. Utilizing an estate plan can limit confusion and issues for your family.
Many people do everything they can to protect their family during their lifetime, but they don’t always think about what will happen when they pass away. If you want to do your best to ensure your loved ones are financially protected after your death, estate planning is crucial.
Making the right decisions about your assets now can lead to long-term benefits for your family even when you’re no longer here. If you’re not sure how to get started on planning for the future, you should hire an estate planning attorney. At LaCourse Law, our Tulsa estate planning lawyers will walk you through all the details to consider when planning for how your assets will be handled upon your death. Contact us today to set up an initial consultation with our caring, experienced lawyers.
One of the most common ways an estate planning lawyer helps clients is by setting up a will or trust for them. A will is a document with directions on how to distribute your assets to your beneficiaries once you pass away. It can also give directions for your funeral and burial, and it will appoint a personal representative who will make decisions on your behalf.
A trust can do everything that a will does, but a major difference is that you can transfer your assets to a trust at any time, even before you pass away. This often allows asset transfers by trust to be faster and more seamless than through a will. Your lawyer will help decide whether a will or trust is right for you before setting it up.
One of the benefits of making a will or trust before you pass away is the ability to appoint someone who will handle your estate. If you don’t choose someone before you pass away, the court will appoint a personal representative for you, and it won’t necessarily be the right person for the job.
This is why it’s important for you to choose someone you trust as the executor of your will. This person will be responsible for going through probate court, settling your debts, and distributing your assets to your beneficiaries. Be sure to consider someone who is fair, responsible, and who you can picture taking on these tasks. Your Tulsa estate planning lawyer can guide you as you make this important choice.
Not everyone gets a chance to make a will or trust before passing away. If you’re wondering what happens then, the answer is that a lot is left up to the state of Oklahoma to decide during the long probate process. In particular, the state will appoint a personal representative to handle your estate.
Next, the state will determine who gets your assets. In Oklahoma, the surviving spouse is usually given half the assets, and any adult children will equally split the other half. If you do not have children, your parents will usually be given the other half of your estate.
Of course, there are often factors that complicate the situation. Some people have stepchildren, cousins, or other loved ones who they would like to leave money to, but this won’t happen automatically unless there’s a will or trust that makes this request. Some people also want to leave some beneficiaries more money than others, or they want certain heirs to get specific assets. This won’t happen without a will or trust, which is why you need to hire an estate planning lawyer to make your wishes clear on paper.
Even if you don’t have many assets right now, it’s important to make a will or trust before you pass away. This way, your beneficiaries will get the money, property, and other items you want them to have, not simply what the Oklahoma court decides.
A Tulsa estate planning lawyer will give you the right tools for protecting your family’s future. To learn more about what we offer, contact our law office at 918-744-7100 to set up an initial consultation with our legal team.
Estate plans are an important part of your end-of-life plan. Utilizing an estate plan can limit confusion and issues for your family.
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