THE IMPORTANCE OF ESTATE PLANNING

If you don’t decide who receives your property and valuable possessions when you pass away, you won’t have any control over what happens to it. Without proper estate planning, the courts often decide who gets your assets. The process is called Probate, and often takes years and racks up fees.

To ensure that your children are taken care of in a manner in which you desire, you will want to name their guardians in the event that both parents die prior to the children reaching 18. Without a Will naming guardians, the courts will step in and decide who raises your children.

With out a proper estate plan, the amount of taxes your heirs will owe Uncle Sam could be quite a lot. Estate planning can enable individuals to reduce much or even all of the federal and state estate taxes and state inheritance tax. Also, there are ways you can decrease the income tax that beneficiaries may have to pay.

When someone with money dies, the war between family members begins. Having a proper estate plan in place can stop the fighting before it even begins. You choose who controls your finances and assets if you become mentally incapacitated or after your death. Your estate plan ensures that your wishes are carried out.