Estate planning is more than deciding where your assets should go after you die. Our Madison estate planning attorneys explain estate planning below.
Estate Planning is Not Just for the Elderly or Wealthy
Estate planning is a process that involves the “big picture” understanding of your legal, financial, health care, and emotional goals and creating a road map to achieve those goals throughout your lifetime and eventual death. Everyone has their own idea of what is important to them during the estate planning process.
Some common objectives are:
Maximize assets being transferred to children
Minimizing taxes and long-term care costs
Providing for lifetime financial security in the event of disability and health care needs
Providing for family members and protecting those with special situations
Gaining peace of mind that you and your loved ones have a plan in place
If you don't create your own checklist of concerns for your estate plan, then someone else will. Default rules will apply regardless of whether they make sense for you and your situation. Without proper estate planning:
You lose the ability to name a trusted individual to act on your behalf if you become unable to manage your own affairs
Your estate is everything you own, and your assets may not go where you want them to go
You lose the opportunity to protect assets
You cannot name your personal representative, trustee, or guardian for your children
Your estate plan does not always need to be complicated, but it should always be based on your decisions and goals.
Ready to have a conversation about creating your estate plan? Contact our Madison estate planning attorneys today at (608) 292-5185 to schedule a consultation!
