estate planning deerfield beach fl has helped several people to designate their assets and estate. The primary goal of estate planning is to select the beneficiaries who will receive the listed assets and estate in case of death or incapacitation by knowing the Real estate and Land use law island county wa. One can list multiple assets in an estate plan and assign different beneficiaries for them.
It will be advisable to hire a lawyer if you are considering estate planning in Ridgeland. A lawyer can help you avoid blunders in an estate plan and ensure your estate is in safe hands. Besides hiring a lawyer, it will be ideal for you to be aware of the common steps in estate planning, as mentioned below.
Essential steps in estate planning you must know:
- Listing and investing assets
One might think that they don’t have enough estate to plan. However, once you start looking, you will be surprised to know the number of tangible and intangible assets. Tangible assets include land, real estate, vehicles, collectibles, and other personal possessions.
On the other hand, intangible assets can range from bank accounts, deposits, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies, retirement plans, etc. As a result, you must list and account for every tangible and intangible asset for the first step.
- Requirements and needs
The second step involves accounting for your family’s needs and requirements. It would help if you thought of how to protect the assets and your family in case of death. It would be best if you considered having a life insurance plan for yourself and your family.
Besides life insurance plans, you will also be needed to name a guardian for your children, if any. When writing a will for an estate plan, you will be asked to name a guardian and a backup guardian for your children to protect them from court conflicts.
It will also be helpful if you document or put into writing your wishes for the children. Presuming that other family members will take care of the child or a judge will abide by your wishes should be avoided.
- Directives
A complete and adequate estate plan involves legal directives such as a will, trust, power of attorney, medical care directive, etc. Trusts and power of attorneys can range from different types. In such cases, it will be advisable for you to contact a lawyer in Ridgeland and ask them which directive suits your needs most.
- Beneficiaries
Once you have finalized a legal directive for your estate plan, you must review your beneficiaries. In this
step, you must check your insurance and retirement accounts, as they might already have a set of beneficiaries.
You should ensure to review the beneficiaries in any account and add or remove them at post your wishes. You should not leave any beneficiary section blank. You should also name backup or contingent beneficiaries to ensure your estate is safe.
