People spend their entire lives acquiring “property.” An estate can be large or small. It consists of savings accounts, checking, and any investments a person may have, as well as all the property they own, including personal and personal property.
Most people have “movable property.” Personal property is anything a person owns: a mobile home, furniture, paintings, a car, a coin collection, their clothing, etc. Those people who own their houses instead of renting them own “Real Estate”. Real or “real” property refers to land and permanent structures (houses, barns, etc.) built on that land.
After working so hard to build an estate (even if you weren’t really aware that’s what you were doing!) it would be an absolute tragedy to see some or all of your estate slip out of your family’s hands once you pass away. .
An estate lawyer can help you prevent that from happening.
A probate lawyer performs many functions to help clients protect their assets and ensure they end up where the client wants them to go.
write a will
One of the main functions that a probate lawyer performs is to help a client draft their will. A will is imperative in this day and age. If you don’t put in writing where you want each part of your estate to go, from personal property to real property, a court in your state will decide that for you…and collect a lot of money from your heirs. (could cost thousands of dollars) for the privilege. It will also take much longer than if you leave a will.
Creating a trust
An alternative to a will is to create a trust. With a trust, all of your assets are placed in one account, and you then appoint a “trustee,” a person you trust, who will disburse the funds when appropriate. A trust is important if small children are involved. The funds they are going to inherit can be disbursed when they reach a certain age, rather than when they are too young to properly manage the money. An estate attorney, if commissioned, can also act as a “protector” of the trust if desired.
Advance Health Care Directives
More familiarly known as a “Living Will”, this document guarantees that your wishes will be carried out, regarding your own health, in the event that you suffer an accident that leaves you incapacitated, or if you develop a disease such as Alzheimer’s, for example, which affect your ability to make decisions for yourself about resuscitation, for example.
Probate
When a person dies, the estate must be divided as he or she desired (if a will or trust was created) or as desired by the court (if there was no will or trust). This is called succession. Probate is a legal process that must go through the Court (and, of course, Court fees must be paid).
An Estate Lawyer Gives You Peace of Mind
53% of Americans have a will. It is an incredibly low percentage. Many young people don’t bother with wills, just like they didn’t bother with health insurance. However, accidents happen every day and it is imperative that even young people plan for the future and for any eventuality.
An estate attorney can help.