Estate Planning - Wills and Trusts
Picture an elaborate funeral.
It's taking place right in front of you and the room is packed.
The casket is a beautiful mahogany frame with silk interior, and the handles are literally made of gold.
Whoever inherits this estate is certainly going to receive millions if not billions of dollars.
Now picture the family after the funeral is over.
While they should be holding their loved ones and crying, instead they are at each other's throats.
The anger is thick in the room and everyone is trying to talk above the others.
It's chaotic at best.
And why is the family like this? Well, they just discovered that the dead man died without ever creating a will.
This means they will have to sort out his estate in court with a bunch of money-minded attorneys in snappy business suits, and they all want their "fair share" of his estate.
Death in any family is difficult, but it is made 100 times more difficult if the dearly departed did not leave a will or trust of any kind.
Greed causes something ugly to emerge in a person and, without clear direction for money and property distribution, the infighting will become deadly.
How can you avoid this in your own family? Well, that's pretty simple.
You must prepare for the future.
First, start with a will.
A will is the base minimum of what you will need to protect your estate.
A will specifies who will get what in case you shuffle off this mortal coil.
You can specify anything you own be given to any individual and, if it is within the court's ability to do so, the will must be followed.
On the flip side, failure to make a will results in the state figuring it out for themselves.
While in some cases this might not be so bad, it can be a lot worse than you think.
For instance, no one might care who gets your collection of old CDs, but you might have an idea of who you want spending your life savings after you die.
Also, if you want your children in the care of a certain individual, it must be stated in a will.
If not, those children will go to whomever the state chooses because verbal wishes cannot be upheld in court.
The next, and perhaps more important, step is to make a living trust.
A trust is a document you can manage while you are living, and it controls your assets.
The trust also specifies who will manage and distribute your assets after your death.
While a will is a legal document that must go through the courts, with a trust you can completely avoid the court system altogether.
This means that the division of your assets won't be public record for the entire world to see.
With a trust, your private life stays private.
And, of course, be careful about the documents you make.
If written or processed incorrectly, those documents could cause worse problems than if there were no documents at all.
So get some help.
Don't just jot down your feelings on a piece of paper and expect it to be upheld in court.
Hire some estate planning attorneys and avoid the problem areas that affect most people.
This will give you peace of mind about the future and will protect your family and friends after your passing.
It's taking place right in front of you and the room is packed.
The casket is a beautiful mahogany frame with silk interior, and the handles are literally made of gold.
Whoever inherits this estate is certainly going to receive millions if not billions of dollars.
Now picture the family after the funeral is over.
While they should be holding their loved ones and crying, instead they are at each other's throats.
The anger is thick in the room and everyone is trying to talk above the others.
It's chaotic at best.
And why is the family like this? Well, they just discovered that the dead man died without ever creating a will.
This means they will have to sort out his estate in court with a bunch of money-minded attorneys in snappy business suits, and they all want their "fair share" of his estate.
Death in any family is difficult, but it is made 100 times more difficult if the dearly departed did not leave a will or trust of any kind.
Greed causes something ugly to emerge in a person and, without clear direction for money and property distribution, the infighting will become deadly.
How can you avoid this in your own family? Well, that's pretty simple.
You must prepare for the future.
First, start with a will.
A will is the base minimum of what you will need to protect your estate.
A will specifies who will get what in case you shuffle off this mortal coil.
You can specify anything you own be given to any individual and, if it is within the court's ability to do so, the will must be followed.
On the flip side, failure to make a will results in the state figuring it out for themselves.
While in some cases this might not be so bad, it can be a lot worse than you think.
For instance, no one might care who gets your collection of old CDs, but you might have an idea of who you want spending your life savings after you die.
Also, if you want your children in the care of a certain individual, it must be stated in a will.
If not, those children will go to whomever the state chooses because verbal wishes cannot be upheld in court.
The next, and perhaps more important, step is to make a living trust.
A trust is a document you can manage while you are living, and it controls your assets.
The trust also specifies who will manage and distribute your assets after your death.
While a will is a legal document that must go through the courts, with a trust you can completely avoid the court system altogether.
This means that the division of your assets won't be public record for the entire world to see.
With a trust, your private life stays private.
And, of course, be careful about the documents you make.
If written or processed incorrectly, those documents could cause worse problems than if there were no documents at all.
So get some help.
Don't just jot down your feelings on a piece of paper and expect it to be upheld in court.
Hire some estate planning attorneys and avoid the problem areas that affect most people.
This will give you peace of mind about the future and will protect your family and friends after your passing.
