Shelby MT Estate Planning Law Firm
As a Shelby, MT estate planning lawyer from Silverman Law Office, PLLC advises, you may not think that you need an estate plan, but you probably do. You’d be surprised to find out that devising an estate plan is more than just writing down your last wishes. Within your estate plan, you can ensure the assets are protected, beneficiaries are chosen, guardians for children or pets are appointed, assets are given to a charity you are passionate about, and so much more.
If you die before establishing a legally binding estate plan, then you risk your estate being handled by the court system, who may or may not consider what your wishes and preferences would have been if you were there to express them yourself. Knowing this fact in itself is often motivating enough for people to come to our office and get started right away on planning for the future of their legacy.
If you aren’t sure if now is the time to finally get started on that estate plan, here are just a few signs that you probably should.
You want certain people or organizations to have your assets.
Think about all the items you have around your home and outside of it. Do you own your home? Vehicles? Art collections? Do you have a 401k? These are all examples of assets that you may want specific people to have when you are no longer here. You can also choose charity organizations that you care about, such as animal rescues or other philanthropy, who would use funds from your assets to continue the work that they do. If you don’t have a will that outlines to whom and which assets you want to distribute to others, then the court will decide these for you based on intestacy law.
You own sentimental items that you want to pass on to others.
Consider this, you actually don’t need to have an exorbitant amount of money in the bank or millions of dollars in asset value to benefit from an estate plan. As a Shelby estate planning lawyer may suggest, your estate plan can be used to give sentimental items that you deeply cherish to those you care about the most, so that they aren’t lost to the system. Your loved ones would rather be able to keep your sentimental items as a way to have a piece of you even after you are gone.
You have a family, children, pets, or other people that matter to you.
If you have a partner, children, family members, best friends, or other people that are important to you, then you should have an estate plan. If you don’t have proper planning in the form of official documentation written before you die, then your estate can get caught up in probate or other issues that prolong when and how much of your assets are given to beneficiaries. Furthermore, if you have children or pets, you can appoint a guardian in your estate plan so that their future care is prepared for in the event of your early departure.
All in all, it’s a wise decision to have an estate plan written. For more insight, contact a Shelby estate planning lawyer from Silverman Law Office, PLLC.
