What is Estate Planning Law in Family Law?
An estate is the real and/or personal property a person possesses at death. The practice area of estate planning law involves the drafting of living wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and other documents to facilitate the transfer and management of property after death. Keep reading this post to understand more what is estate planning law.
What is Estate Planning Law?
In the field of family law, what is estate planning? Estate planning is the process of creating legal documents that will guide the management of your property after you die. Without an estate plan, your possessions will be distributed to your next of kin. By creating a will, you will avoid the problems associated with having no will or a will that doesn’t state who should inherit your property. This will prevent your loved ones from being surprised by your death and the dissolution of the family.
Estate planning is an important aspect of family law, but often overlooked. While there is much confusion about the topic, proactive estate planning can help alleviate the emotional and financial stress on your loved ones. Estate planning involves preparing a will, trust, health care directives, and more. In most cases, however, estate planning does not involve tax planning, though it can be used in conjunction with it. This is because a will is an important document that outlines your wishes in detail.
The main aim of estate planning is to provide for your loved ones after you pass away. It may be possible to avoid probate and manage your assets, provide for minor children, provide tax savings, avoid Medicaid eligibility, and donate to charities. Fortunately, there are many ways to make your wishes clear, even if they aren’t fully expressed. If you’ve opted for a trust, you can easily create it during your lifetime or after you die.
What does estate planning law cover?
When a couple decides to divorce, one of the most important tasks for them is creating and updating their estate plan. In this process, they can designate a Power of Attorney for Personal Finances and an Advance Directive for Medical Care. While a divorce can make the terms of a will invalid, a new marriage can give it a fresh start. In either case, it is essential to make sure the documents are in order before a divorce.
Some people consider the creation of a spendthrift trust to be the best way to protect their children in case they divorce. While this type of trust is usually not appropriate for a blended family, the intent is to protect the assets of one or both parents during a divorce. A child’s divorce may trigger certain rules, such as the right to community property. By putting a trust in place, parents can protect their assets and minimize the value of community property in the event of a divorce.
Estate planning laws protect the assets of an individual and their family in case of death. The estate is a sum of money left to beneficiaries upon death. Assets include cars, houses, art, life insurance, pensions, and debts. Estate planning law helps to minimize the number of complaints and other complications caused by probate. It can also be a way to provide for the surviving spouse, fund education, or contribute to charitable causes.
Terms to Know
When you’re preparing an estate plan, you’ll encounter a number of unfamiliar terms. Having an understanding of these terms is helpful in preparing documents and discussing your plans with others. Listed below are a few of the key terms related to estate planning. Each term has specific meanings. Know them and how they affect your plan. To learn more, read on! These terms have been categorized to make it easier for you to understand what each means.
“Estate” is a fancy legal term, and it refers to the property left to your loved ones after your death. In Missouri, for example, the distribution of the estate is governed by Chapter 474, RSMo. If you pass away without making an estate plan, your loved ones may be forced to settle for less than you wanted. That’s why it’s crucial to know about estate planning law.
An heir is the person entitled to inherit something from the deceased’s estate. This person is not chosen by the deceased but is appointed by the court. This may be the case for minor children without a guardian, elderly adults, or people who are mentally or physically incapacitated. Heir and beneficiary are two different terms, and their definitions may differ. In most states, spouses and children are the heirs. Other types of beneficiaries include siblings, nieces and nephews, and even relatives.
Do You Need an Estate Planning Lawyer?
Choosing an attorney who specializes in estate planning is important, because you need to maximize your planning options. An attorney with a family law background may not be as qualified as one specializing in estate planning, which is a gray area. To determine their level of expertise, ask them how familiar they are with your state’s laws and fees. You can also consult TV ads for recommendations of family law attorneys.
Developing an estate plan involves gathering information about family members and kinship. This is particularly difficult when family members have grown apart and may even live in different states. Also, assets must be assessed to determine if they will trigger estate taxes. These assets may include real estate, bank accounts, and other items of value. An estate planning lawyer can assist with the process, helping you create a will that best serves your wishes.
Another important step in estate planning is succession planning. It is important to plan for how your business will be run after your death. Consider setting up family limited partnerships or family limited liability companies. An attorney can help you decide which structure will work best for your business. In addition, trusts are a useful tool in estate planning, as they help your family manage assets during your lifetime. A trust can help protect your assets against long-term care costs, as well as avoid the hassles of probate.
Related Practice Areas
Regardless of the type of law practice you need, most attorneys have some familiarity with estate planning law. Both types of attorneys sometimes handle matters relating to Medicaid planning, guardianships, and children’s trusts. Their skill sets vary greatly, though, and a select few will focus on both areas of law. However, most attorneys concentrate on one type of practice.
Estate planning law involves drafting documents to make sure that your affairs are settled and your assets are distributed in the most tax-efficient way possible. If you die without leaving a will, your estate will be distributed to your next-of-kin. Without a will, you give up control over your assets and no one can control how they are distributed. If your spouse isn’t included in your will, the terms will be null and void.
Conclusion
In addition to providing comprehensive information on estate planning, this post provides a solid foundation in family law. The authors highlight the commonalities and overlaps of the fields, and explore how the rules apply to clients. These fields often intersect at critical junctures of life. As such, estate planning practitioners should advise clients to seek independent counsel when planning for the future. By doing so, they can protect themselves from undue influence or risk.
