Legal planning concerns the creation of a plan for managing one’s estate and therefore is more than merely drawing up a will. If you wish to make sure that all your desires are met effectively, then, these 5 documents are important in estate planning.

Here are Estate Planning Documents checklist that you cannot afford to miss…

1. Last Will and Testament

A last will testament is one of the crucial legal instruments of estate planning documents because of the provision of the testator’s last wishes. I will be also used in cases where you would like a specific property or item handed over to specific people such as some family members, friends or charities. In your last will and testament, you can determine:

  • It gets even more complicated if you have dependent children; who will take responsibility for their well-being?
  • What will happen to any real estate that you own
  • You have $27,500 in cash assets but don’t know how they be divided.
  • To whom will some family treasures go?

In a nutshell, this type of legal form that is written provides you with the powers to determine who is to benefit from your property after you are gone. A last will testament as aforementioned is the cornerstone of the estate plan and is among the most valuable Estate Planning Attorney in Deer Park NY tools which are available to you. If there is no will, the state will dictate how your property and belongings will be divided.

2. Preneed Guardian Designation

Can you imagine if you do not appoint a guardian, that the court in a scenario that you are unable to speak for yourself will assign you a guardian whom you cannot associate with and whom you have never seen in your life but that person will be legally responsible for managing all your financial affairs and your medical treatment? A Preneed guardian designation decides on who will make decisions on your behalf in case Preneed durable power of attorney and health care surrogate fail. Who will take responsibility for the dependent child in the event that both dies? If you failed to make a provision for a guardian in your estate plan then the state will have to make the decision for you. You should thus consider preparing your appointment of guardianship documents with the two options of the guardians. If possible, proposal more alternatives in order that your other options won’t let you off the hook.

3. Durable Power of Attorney

In a general power of attorney, one may choose a person to act for him or her in financial matters in case he or she is not able to do so due to disability. The agent you appoint will have the authority to step in and make financial decisions for you, such as:

  • Pay your bills
  • Maintain your mortgage
  • Market any property on your behalf
  • Oversee your investments

If you do not have a duly signed power of attorney then none of these decisions will be possible unless and until a court has appointed your guardian/conservator. A court procedure in the appointment of a guardian may take a long time as well as cost a lot of money. It’s possible that the judge will select a person that’s different from the one you would have recommended if given a chance.

4. Revocable Living Trust

There exists another document known as a revocable living trust which can be used in place of a living will testament. Like a will, it explains your last wishes but also how your affairs will be managed in case of your disability; It also enables you to transfer your property to the trust while you are alive. During your lifetime you, the trust maker, have the power to change or even cancel it hence the name revocable. You are able to get assets back from the trust, dispose of the assets, or add additional assets to the trust.

A living trust also states what will happen if you reach a point where you are incapable of making your own decisions anymore. They can access your trustee and ask him to nominate someone to take over your management in case you become helpless to do so. When you die your revocable living trust then turns into an irrevocable trust. It would be at this point that the successor trustee comes in and fulfills your last wishes as spelt by you.

There are some pluses that are associated with living trusts as compared to the traditional wills. The most significant benefit that can be extracted from this approach is that all the particulars of your estate are not made public. A revocable living trust may also be used to avoid the process of probate that may sometimes be very expensive and time consuming.