4 Important Estate Planning Documents You Should Know About

Estate planning is such an important process, yet one that many people are misinformed about. For instance, you might imagine it’s only necessary for senior citizens and that it involves hours upon hours spent in a lawyer’s office.

However, when working with experienced estate planning lawyers, the process is exactly the opposite.

In this post, we take a look at what is estate planning and what are the most important documents you should set up.

What Is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is the process of legally choosing the individuals who will handle your estate and receive your assets upon your death. More importantly, it ensures your wishes are respected and honored. 

You may be wondering if you even need an estate plan if you’re not a senior citizen. The answer to that question is a resounding yes. Even though dealing with estate planning lawyers in your mid-30s seems redundant, especially if you don’t have many possessions, it’s necessary if you want to see to it that your family is well taken care of after your death.

Furthermore, if you have a substantial amount of assets, you want to make sure that you maximize the wealth transferred to your heirs. Leveraging some of the options we’ll discuss further, you can minimize transfer taxes and preserve your estate as much as it’s possible.

Essential Estate Planning Documents

Although estate planning is by no means a straightforward process, certain documents are a part of almost every estate plan. Here are the big four documents that you should know about:

Last Will And Testament

The one document all estate planning lawyers recommend without a doubt is a will. With it, you can designate which individuals are entitled to receive your assets upon your passing. This includes both tangible assets (personal belongings and real estate) and intangible assets (investment and bank accounts). 

Individuals receiving your assets are considered beneficiaries and can be almost anyone - from your family and friends all the way to organizations you support. You can also name guardians for any underage children or pets. 

Lastly, a will must include an executor who is a trusted individual tasked with carrying out your final wishes.

Financial Power Of Attorney

In case you need someone to manage your financial matters on your behalf, estate planning lawyers can help you put together a financial power of attorney document. Through this method, you’ll have a trusted individual taking care of matters such as managing your property, paying bills, and making bank deposits.

This is particularly useful in scenarios in which you are incapacitated and require medical attention. The person appointed to this role can then use your assets to pay for your treatment and provide for your family while you’re indisposed.

Revocable Living Trust

This type of trust allows the distribution of your possessions after you pass away. In contrast to a will, with a revocable living trust, you still have access to your assets while you’re alive, but the property is now owned by the trust.

A revocable living trust requires more upkeep than a will, but it’s got a unique strength as it will spare your assets from having to go through probate - a lengthy legal process that may take several months. So in a sense, if you want a quick transfer of your assets, this is by far the best choice.

Setting up this type of trust is pretty easy. Once a lawyer drafts a trust instrument, you need to have it notarized. You also have to designate a successor trustee who oversees the trust once you pass away. Finally, with everything set up, you can simply transfer the assets to the trust after signing the documents. 

Since probate in Florida is expensive and lengthy, it’s common for those with sizable estates and business owners to create a revocable living trust. In this case, many estate planning lawyers can help you set up a pour-over will, which automatically transfers your remaining assets into your trust at the time of death.

Advance Healthcare Directive

It’s common for individuals to not be able to make decisions regarding their medical care, in which case, it’s useful to set up an advance healthcare directive. This estate planning document lets you specify who can make these decisions on your behalf. 

It’s worth noting that advanced healthcare directives consist of a medical power of attorney and a living will. To put it differently, you describe your medical preferences such as types of treatments, end-of-life care, and drugs in a living will.

Then, you also have to specify a person as a healthcare agent who is allowed to make healthcare-related decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. For example, if you are asleep or in a coma, this individual can take over the responsibility of making these decisions for you. 

Think of it this way: With an advance healthcare directive, you’ll be making medical decisions you know your future self will be happy with.

Start Planning For The Future With The Help Of The Law Offices Of Mary E. King

Estate planning is not just for senior citizens. Still, many people avoid creating an estate plan until they reach a certain age. You can chalk it up to the fact that matters surrounding what happens to you after your death are uncomfortable to bear, but considering how much estate planning can help your family, it’s not something you should ignore.

As a rather big plus, you don’t have to go through this alone. By hiring an estate planning attorney, you’ll be sure everything is well taken care of with minimal effort from you and your loved ones. 

If you want to work with one of the most experienced estate planning lawyers in Florida, then the Law Offices of Mary E. King is your best choice. We understand just how sensitive the process of making end-of-life decisions is, especially for younger individuals, and we have the experience and the know-how to guide you through it - as we’ve done with numerous other clients. 

Use our contact form or dial 941-906-7585 to schedule a free consultation and we can help you start planning for the future.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.