Estate planning isn’t always something that you necessarily want to think about because it involves considering what will happen to you if you get sick and what will happen to your loved ones when you pass away. Still, it’s important for your peace of mind and for your family’s safety and security that you make an estate plan.
Kuhn & Kuhn is here to help. We can make the estate planning process simple, easy, and effective and can give you the tools you need to protect your assets and secure your legacy. Whether you have a simple estate, a family farm, or a small business, we can work with you to identify the tools you need to use to make an estate plan and can help you to put a solid plan in place.
Give us a call today to find out more about the assistance we can offer with your estate plan and to get answers to questions you have about the estate planning process including:
- When should I make an estate plan?
- What should I include in my estate plan?
- How can a Charleston estate planning lawyer help me?
When Should You Make an Estate Plan?
An estate plan is something that should be created as soon as you have any assets to protect, as soon as you have anyone counting on you, or as soon as you have formed opinions on what you hope would happen to you if you get sick or hurt.
An estate plan is about more than just creating a last will and testament. You can also use the estate planning process to protect your assets and to provide detailed instructions for what should happen in the event that an illness or an injury leaves you incapacitated.
There are never any guarantees in life regarding how long you will stay healthy and when tragedy will strike. The estate planning process is about being prepared for these tragedies so you and your loved ones can remain as strong and safe as possible even when bad things happen.
You don’t want default laws, like intestacy laws, to determine what your legacy will be, and you don’t want to put your loved ones in a difficult situation where they’re fighting over your assets or arguing over what your wishes would have been. You should make a plan early in life and update it as needed when your life circumstances change.
What Should You Include In Your Estate Plan?
Every person has different assets, a different family situation, and different goals for their legacy. This is why the creation of a personalized estate plan is so important. You don’t want to use generic DIY forms you download from the Internet or try to handle the estate planning process on your own, as you could miss out on important tools that should be included in your estate plan.
Kuhn & Kuhn can help you to determine what types of tools and documents should make up the core of your estate plan. Some of the different tools that you may want to use include:
- A last will and testament to specify how assets will be distributed.
- Trusts to provide more protection for your wealth and more control over assets.
- A business succession plan to ensure that your company can be handed down through the generations.
- An incapacity plan to make certain that you have control over medical care and that you specify who should be in charge of decision-making if you cannot make decisions on your own. Your incapacity plan could include like advanced directives for medical care and a durable power of attorney.
- Pay-on-death accounts to facilitate the timely transfer of wealth after you pass on.
- Joint ownership to facilitate the timely transfer of assets.
There may also be other specialized tools that you should use to address your specific family situation, so you should get legal help in creating your estate plan as soon as possible while you are still healthy and able to take action.
How can a Charleston Estate Plan Lawyer Help You?
A Charleston estate planning lawyer at Kuhn & Kuhn can provide the help that you need to go beyond just making a last will and testament in order to create a truly comprehensive estate plan.
When you want to ensure your assets are kept as safe as possible and that your loved ones are secure even if tragedy strikes your family, we can help. Give us a call at 843-577-3700 or contact us online today to find out more about the assistance we can offer with the estate planning process.
