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 unsure how to start 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 how your assets will be handled upon your death. Contact us today for 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. A will is a document with directions on distributing your assets to your beneficiaries once you pass away. It can also give directions for your funeral and burial and appoint a personal representative to make decisions on your behalf.
A trust can do everything a will does, but a significant difference is that you can transfer your assets to a trust anytime, even before you pass away. This often allows asset transfers by the trust to be faster and more seamless than through a will. Before setting it up, your lawyer will help decide whether a will or trust is proper for you.
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 who won’t necessarily be the right person for the job.
This is why you must choose someone you trust as the executor of your will. This person will go through probate court, settle your debts, and distribute your assets to your beneficiaries. Be sure to consider someone who is fair and responsible and who you can picture taking on these tasks. Your Tulsa estate planning lawyer can guide you as you make this critical choice.
Not everyone can 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 lengthy 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 to whom they would like to leave money, 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 want certain heirs to get specific assets. This won’t happen without a will or trust, so you need to hire an estate planning lawyer to make your wishes clear on paper.
Even if you don’t have many assets, making a will or trust before you pass away is essential. 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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