Estate Planning Awareness Week takes place from October 17th through October 23rd, and it should be a reminder to you that you need to create a plan of your own. This is not just something that rich people need to do. You and your family can benefit from this, and a Washtenaw County estate planning attorney from our firm is ready to show you how.
Is Having a Will Enough?
If you wrote a will, you may think that your estate planning is done. Having a will is good, but it’s not the only document that you should prepare. If you pass away, your assets will still have to go through probate court before they go to your loved ones. You should also take the time to make sure that all of your assets are properly accounted for.
What Else Can I Do With Estate Planning?
There are a few other important tasks to take care of when you are in the estate planning process. You could:
Set up a trust: There are many different types of trusts. Some can allow you to bypass the probate process and others can be used to care for a loved one who can’t care for themselves, like a minor child or a relative with special needs.
Assign power of attorney: When you give someone your power of attorney, you are giving them permission to make decisions for you when you are incapacitated. You can give someone financial power of attorney and give someone else your healthcare power of attorney.
Medicaid planning: You can also plan for ways to use Medicaid to pay for nursing home and other related expenses toward the end of your. There are just some rules that you should be aware of before you do this.
Living will: A living will is part of your advance healthcare directive along with the assignment of your healthcare power of attorney. You can tell your loved ones what kinds of treatments you would want, where you would want to go through treatment, and what kinds of life-saving measures you would want to be treated with.
How Can an Estate Planning Lawyer Help Me?
Estate planning isn’t exactly easy. There are plenty of laws and regulations around it, so you should meet with an attorney who can walk you through all of your options. We can help you make a custom plan and take advantage of any estate planning tools that you can use. We can also ensure that all of the relevant documents are legally binding.
Meet With Our Legal Team
Now’s a great time to give yourself and your family some peace of mind by preparing an estate plan of your own. Contact Collis, Griffor & Hendra to schedule a consultation. Once we know more about your estate and assets, we can help you develop a custom plan that will make it easy to leave something behind for your loved ones.
