Estate plans allow you to plan for the future and provide for your loved ones. Some people may believe an estate plan isn’t necessary because they are young or don’t have an estate, but estate plans can provide many benefits to nearly everyone. You have an estate if you own any assets of value, and an estate plan allows you to protect these assets. An Indianapolis estate planning attorney can help you determine how an estate plan can be good for you and your family.
Every person’s estate plan is unique, and plans can include any number of helpful documents. You can create a simple or comprehensive estate plan. The documents included in your estate plan can reflect your goals, and each offers unique benefits. Some of the main benefits of an estate plan can include:
1. Avoiding Probate Court
When your estate plan includes one or more trusts, the assets in those trusts do not have to go through probate court. Probate is the state’s process of inventorying your estate before distributing it to the beneficiaries in your will or to your heirs under intestate law. Probate is a useful process, but it can be long, lead to conflict between family members, and cost your family a lot financially. This can cut into the benefits you leave for them.
By placing your estate’s assets in a trust, you can distribute the assets to your loved ones after your death without this lengthy and public process, allowing them to receive benefits immediately.
2. Reducing Financial and Personal Burdens on Your Loved Ones
Most aspects of an estate plan are put into effect when you die. This is obviously a difficult time for your family and loved ones, and an estate plan can limit this stress as much as possible. An estate plan can provide clear instructions, outlining your wishes and limiting uncertainty for your family. Clearly outlined wishes can also mitigate potential disputes between loved ones or contests of asset distribution.
3. Protecting Your Assets
Estate planning mostly focuses on the protection of assets so that they can be distributed to your family according to your wishes. The right estate planning documents can help your estate avoid certain taxes during your life and after your death. You may also be able to prevent creditors from claiming certain assets. These actions safeguard your property and ensure that maximum benefits pass to your beneficiaries.
An estate plan can also protect your assets from irresponsible beneficiaries by creating trusts that designate how and when the inheritance funds are to be used and protect beneficiaries who receive government benefits. Having too many assets can prevent an individual from receiving the assistance they need to survive. If the assets are in a trust managed by someone else, it may not count against them.
Your estate plan also allows you to protect minor children in your family specifically. You are able to name a guardian for your children in your will, which the court will usually honor as long as it is in the child’s interest. Additionally, you can establish trusts to protect their inheritance until they come of age. By creating a trust, you can determine who will be given the duty of a trustee.
4. Planning for Incapacity
Estate planning can also address a time in your life when you are unable to make decisions for yourself. You can plan for the health care you do and do not consent to or put individuals in charge of financial, legal, and medical decisions, or both. This way, you know you will be cared for if you become incapacitated due to injury, illness, or age.
FAQs
Q: What Is an Advantage of Having an Estate Plan?
A: One primary advantage of having an estate plan is knowing how your assets will be handled and your loved ones protected. You are able to plan in advance, which can give you some peace of mind in the present. You know how you will be cared for if you are incapacitated, and you know that the assets you have worked hard to secure will support your family and loved ones. This planning also saves your family time and money in the future.
Q: Is a Trust Better Than a Will in Indiana?
A: A trust is often seen as more beneficial than a will in Indiana, although both can be created together in a comprehensive estate plan. Both a will and trust name the assets in your estate and their beneficiaries; however, a will goes through probate court, which is a lengthy, public, and costly process. A trust avoids probate and any additional taxes or costs on the assets. A will can do things that a trust cannot, like naming the guardian to any minor children you have.
Q: What Is the Goal of an Estate Plan?
A: The goal of an estate plan varies depending on who is making it and what their goals are, but most individuals create an estate plan to protect their assets for the benefit of their loved ones. A basic estate plan allows you to determine who or what your assets will benefit, who you want to administer your estate, and who you want to care for your children. A more complex estate plan can help you establish other priorities, such as your care and well-being, if you are incapacitated.
Q: What Is the Difference Between a Will and an Estate Plan?
A: The difference between a will and an estate plan is that a will is one document commonly found in an estate plan. A will allows you to plan the distribution of your assets after death. Some estate plans are made up of only a will, while other estate plans are made up of many other documents. An estate plan can include a will, trusts, a living will, powers of attorney, and other legal documents.
Planning for Your Family’s Future With an Enforceable Estate Plan
There are many benefits of an estate plan, but the documents must be legally valid and enforceable in court in order for you and your loved ones to recover those benefits. Contact Stange Law Firm today for legal help reviewing or drafting your estate plan.
