A Guide to Estate Planning

Estate planning isn’t simply about creating and signing a will. You’ll need to consider your current circumstances, potential future plans, and what your final wishes are. With a solid estate plan, you can ensure that your family won’t have to deal with financial or legal issues at the same time as they’re grieving your passing.

If you have a lot of assets or properties overseas, as well as business or financial investments, your estate plan may be more complex than that of somebody with small-value assets and fewer beneficiaries to consider. That being said, everybody should make it clear how they want their estate to be managed and preserved after they die, regardless of how wealthy they are. You might include some of the following in your estate plan:

• The name and details of a nominated guardian for any dependents you might have, including children, elderly family members, family with learning or physical health difficulties, or pets.
• The person you wish to be the executor who deals with your estate when you’ve gone.
• Beneficiaries of your life insurance at the time of death.
• Funeral wishes, such as music preferences and where you want to be buried or your ashes to be scattered. It’s advisable to let your loved ones know your wishes in case they start planning your funeral before your will is made available to them.
• If you want money to be donated to a certain charity.
• If you want to allocate a power of attorney in the event that you’re unable to make your own decisions due to deteriorating health.

You should regularly review your estate and planning as and when there is a change to your circumstances, or you acquire an asset of significant value. Our estate planning lawyers will be able to give you advice on your options and ensure your estate plan reflects any state- or country-wide legal or regulatory changes.

Why Might I Need to Consult an Estate Litigation Lawyer?

In an ideal world, everything would go smoothly and exactly as you’ve planned it. Unfortunately, wills and estate plans can often be challenged because there are so many people involved in them. By consulting a probate dispute lawyer while you’re putting your estate plan together, you can receive advice to help you understand the rights and options that your executor and beneficiaries have after you’ve gone. You can play a part in helping to reduce the stress on your friends and family at what will be an emotionally charged time in their lives.

Estate dispute lawyers are often employed to solicit advice and represent people in court regarding various disputes, which can include:

• Questions concerning the validity of the will or suspicions involving possible third-party influences. For instance, if somebody believes that a beneficiary put pressure on the deceased to give them a larger share of their financial assets while they were alive, they may take them to court for their allegations to be investigated.

• Failure of the assigned executor to deal with the distribution of assets as outlined in the will.

• Disgruntled family members who feel they’ve been left out of or not given their full entitlement to assets in the will.

Don’t forget that we offer a FREE 15-minute consultation so you can be sure that your wishes are carried out in any eventuality and your family is well looked after when you die. So get in touch with our team at Velocity Legal today!

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