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Estate Planning FAQs
What is Estate Planning?
It’s a plan for your assets, family and yourself, and it will cover death or incapacity. It’s important to cover incapacity. You’ll be not only deciding what happens to various properties and bank accounts but also who will care for you in the event you become incapacitated. We do that through powers of attorney and it’s critical that you make decisions about who will be in charge.
Do You Need an Estate Plan?
if you don’t have many assets? You need an estate plan if you have any assets. If you own a home, property, or bank accounts, you want to decide what happens to them and who runs your estate. Very importantly, in the event of incapacity, your estate plan should have powers of attorney for healthcare directives and general needs. And you absolutely want to be the person who decides who will be in charge.
What documents are included in a basic estate plan?
An estate plan is going to provide a will, a power of attorney for healthcare and a power of attorney for general needs, such as finances associated with various agencies and companies.
What’s the difference between a will and a Trust?
What is the difference between a will and a trust? A will is a formal written instrument that requires certain formalities. It will transfer property through the probate court after your death. It determines how your assets are distributed and who is in charge of your assets. However, you need to be the person who decides that. A trust is a written contract that is a comprehensive and lengthy document where we do a title transfer or a beneficiary designation, so at your death your assets are owned by the trust. Oftentimes we can avoid probate provided that all of your assets are transferred into the trust. It also provides for who handles your assets if you are incapacitated or pass away. A trust is important if you own properties in multiple states or have any complex situations. Here’s more information.