If you have fixed an appliance or cooked a meal watching a tutorial video online, you may feel tempted and encouraged to do several other things on your own. It can be exciting and rewarding to accomplish DIY tasks but not everything can be learned online. Certain things such as treating a health condition or handling a legal matter should always be left to professionals. One such thing that needs professional assistance is the preparation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. When it comes to drafting your estate plan, it can be risky to take the do-it-yourself route. An estate plan establishes your end-of-life wishes and any mistake in this legal document can have severe consequences for your loved ones.
Most people nowadays own a car, home, real estate, some precious jewels, saving accounts, and other investments. To ensure that your property and assets are inherited by those you want, it’s imperative to think about estate planning. Even if you think that you don’t have enough assets or you aren’t old enough, estate planning is for anyone who wants to protect their loved ones and fulfill their own interest. Now you may argue that why to hire a professional for this task when you can create your own Will and estate plan.
The Role of the Estate Planning Attorney
An estate plan isn’t just for old and retired people with a substantial amount of assets and investments. Nobody can predict their lifespan, unexpected illness, or sudden accidents. An estate plan prepares you for the worst situations. In the event of death or accidents that could leave a person disabled or incapacitated, an estate plan ensures that things are carried out the way you wanted. You may create an estate plan but to ensure that this document is recognized by the court of law, it’s crucial to draft error-free documents. If you’re still planning to take things into your hand, here are some wise reasons to hire an estate planning attorney to prepare and help execute your estate plan.
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Legal Compliance
Probate and trust laws vary from state to state and keep on changing. A DIY will and estate plan might miss crucial legal points that can invalidate the document in court. Handling the wills and trust law probate process is exceptionally complex. Using free templates and do-it-yourself guides has significant chances of error. Even if you luckily draft a document that complies with the state law, the regulations and legal code could possibly change over the years. But if you hire a certified estate planning attorney, your documents will comply with the recent law.
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Customized Plan tailored to Your Needs
An estate planning lawyer specializes in drafting wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and other legal documents. These legal documents specify who is going to receive your assets when they will receive it, guardian for minor children, healthcare and other instructions if you ever become disabled or incapacitated, ways to minimize taxes, court costs, and much more. Your attorney will ensure that your wishes will be honoured when you die or become disabled to manage your affairs.
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Ease Lengthy and Costly Probate Process
The best estate planning attorneys perform a thorough review of all documents to find out which items require changes and updates. The attorney will ensure your wishes are honored, as well as help your loved ones navigate the long, costly, and complicated probate proceedings. Probate is a court process that involves checking the documents and transferring the deceased person’s assets to the beneficiaries. This entire process can be expensive and might take several months. But with an attorney, your heirs can easily inherit the property.
