If you do not have an estate plan in place, now is the time to act. You need to create a comprehensive estate plan even if you are young, and especially if you have young children who are depending upon you. Everyone from millennials to senior citizens can benefit from having their affairs in order in case the worst occurs. Your estate plan will not only serve to protect you, but is also essential to keeping your family secure, so you cannot afford to wait.
A Geneseo, IL estate planning lawyer at Nash Bean Ford & Brown, LLP can help with the creation of your estate plan. Give us a call at 800-644-5345 to find out more about the personalized service we can provide with planning for incapacity, asset protection, and death. We can also answer questions that you may have about estate planning including:
- Who should have an estate plan?
- What needs to be included in my estate plan?
- How can a Geneseo estate planning lawyer help you?
Who Should Have an Estate Plan?
You should have an estate plan if you are concerned about your medical care in case of incapacity. Your plan can detail who should make medical choices for you, whether you want CPR or a feeding tube, and under what circumstances you want to be kept alive by extraordinary measures. Having a plan means your family will not have to make tough choices.
You should have an estate plan if you have minor children or if you are responsible for the care of anyone who is disabled. Your plan can include provisions to ensure the children or the person with special needs will be cared for after you are gone. You can also provide financially for your loved ones.
You should have an estate plan if you have any assets you wish to protect and if you want to control who those assets go to upon your death. You can use tools to keep your assets safe from being lost due to high nursing home costs if you have to go into a nursing home. You can also make sure you control who inherits, and reduce potential losses which could occur due to incapacity or because of estate taxes.
Because everyone cares about their own medical future, about their assets, and about their families, everyone should have an estate plan.
What Needs to be Included in my Estate Plan?
The specific things to include in your estate plan vary depending upon your assets; whether you own a business; how you want to protect your family; and the value of your estate. Your plan may need to include:
- A last will and testament. This can be used to specify how assets should transfer.
- Trusts. Trusts have lots of different purposes, from allowing you to provide for children or a loved one with a disability to helping you protect assets. You’ll need help choosing the right type of trust and following formalities for trust creation.
- Advanced directives. You will need to use advanced directives like a living will to specify what kinds of medical care you wish to receive and what kinds of care you wish to decline. You may also name a healthcare proxy who you vest with the authority to make decisions on your care when you cannot.
- A power of attorney. This gives someone authority to act on your behalf in the management of your assets in case you become incapacitated. You can maintain a greater degree of autonomy by ensuring you have chosen your agent.
You may also get help with structuring ownership of joint accounts; estate tax avoidance; investment decisions; assistance with life insurance policy purchases; and a wide variety of other legal matters when you work with an estate planning lawyer. Knowing what legal tools are available is key to making effective use of those legal tools to protect yourself and the people who you care about.
How Can a Geneseo Estate Planning Lawyer Help You?
Nash Bean Ford & Brown, LLP provides estate planning advice to everyone, regardless of age or income level. Our Geneseo, IL estate planning lawyers are 100 percent committed to helping you to develop goals for your legacy and to helping you achieve those goals by using all available legal tools. Give us a call today at 800-644-5345 or contact us online to learn more about why estate planning services matter for protecting your family and to create your comprehensive plan.
