What does a lawyer do when planning an estate?

In many ways, an estate planning attorney or probate lawyer does exactly what their title suggests. They help you with the complicated process of dealing with your will, estate, and beneficiaries. Their goal always should be to ensure that your wishes are carried out if you die or are no longer able to make decisions.  

Beyond just knowing the process, an estate planning lawyer should know the state and federal law inside and out. They should know how your decisions will affect your estate planning, including the value, dispersal, and taxation.  

Here’s a breakdown of what an experienced estate planning attorney can do for you.  

Create a Will 

An estate planning attorney can meet with you and access your personal situation, so you avoid the mistakes and delays that could affect how your estate is passed down to your loved ones. A lawyer can make recommendations about how to allocate assets to beneficiaries, as well as listen to what you really want and need.  

Advice on Who Should Make Decisions

As an experienced attorney, they should be able to help you determine who will be your beneficiaries, but also who will hold your durable power of attorney. It’s important to consider all your options, because it may be that a family member is not the best person to make decisions on your behalf when you’re no longer able to.  

Help Avoid Probate

The laws are different across the US, so it’s important that you work with an experienced estate planning attorney who can offer insights and recommendations on how to avoid probate. While it’s necessary to transfer your estate, the probate process can be expensive and can take up to two years to run its course.  

Have Knowledge

Since laws are constantly changing, you need an experienced lawyer who understands how the updates will affect your estate planning situation. The estate planning attorney should have a good sense of how state and federal laws will affect how inventory, value, disbursement, and taxation will work for your estate after your death.  

Protect Your Legacy

The goal of your estate planning attorney is to cover all the bases to make sure that your will is valid and filed, and that you’ve considered all your options for beneficiaries and power of attorney. While you probably don’t want to think about it, you need to consider an advance medical directive as well as your life insurance and trust.  

Update Your Estate Plan

In the most ideal situation, your estate plan will have considered all the elements that will need to be addressed at the time of your death or incapacity. You also require an attorney who will continue to update your estate plan as there are changes to your health, financial situation, or even family dynamics. If you have a new baby or child, you can ask your attorney to add them. Or, if other family members unfortunately die, you can remove, or rearrange those beneficiary designations.  

Your goal here is to make the process as streamlined as possible for your family when you die, so there’s (hopefully) no question or debate about what you wanted. Without an experienced estate planning lawyer, it’s easy to overlook important aspects of your estate plan. Mistakes can lead to hard feelings, misunderstandings, and even lengthy and expensive court battles as they try to figure it out.  

Next Step: Schedule a Consult with a New Albany Estate Lawyer

You need a New Albany estate lawyer who can help you navigate the complexities of estate planning. The best probate attorney will help you reduce and eliminate estate taxes, if possible, while avoiding probate court, setting up trusts, creating a durable power of attorney (or even a medical durable power of attorney), and so much more.  

You may not yet know how important an estate planning attorney will be to ensure that your estate is passed on to your loved ones with the greatest speed and ease. The fact is that you’re not an expert in estate law. It’s impossible for you to guess what you don’t know about estate planning, but even if you had a good sense of the law, there are constant changes you may not know about.  

For innumerable reasons, it’s best to reach out to a knowledgeable and experienced estate planning lawyer who can help. Contact a New Albany estate lawyer today!