The reasons for needing an estate plan are as varied as the people involved, and it seems the many myths surrounding the subject do quite a bit of harm. For example, do you have to be “rich” to need an estate plan? The answer is, “No,” you don’t have to be wealthy to need an estate plan. All he needs is the desire to pass on to his heirs as much of the wealth that he has preserved during his lifetime as possible.

Among the main benefits of a well-written estate plan are minimizing the expense of passing your estate on to beneficiaries, reducing administrative complexities, and ensuring, to the extent possible, that your distribution wishes are met.

For example, if you own a home, have minor children or grandchildren, adult children in your own marriages, have been divorced, own a business, or expect to receive an inheritance of your own, you should seriously consider the benefits of proper estate planning. Instead of passing the problems on to your heirs, you can choose to pass on the most wealth with the least amount of hassle through estate planning.

The biggest hurdle, often, is building a lasting relationship with an attorney who specializes in estate planning. Going through the yellow pages, asking friends for referrals, or using the Internet is often a messy process with little guarantee of success.

Compelling Reasons to Build an Estate Plan

Among the common motivations that compel the creation of an estate plan are the following. The more the following reasons apply to any situation, the greater the need to complete estate planning to not only build and protect your hard-earned wealth, but also to transfer your wealth with as little exhaustion and expense as possible. With a proper estate plan, you can plan ahead to:

1. Designate who will handle your affairs if and when you become disabled. If you don’t, a court will decide for you not only who gets your wealth but also who makes the distributions. You never know who the court will add. Stay in control of your own destiny!

2. Planning for Medicaid and its impact on your estate if you must go into a nursing home. Today, nursing homes can cost as much as $75,000 a year or more, and a long stay can easily impoverish all but the wealthiest families. However, with proper planning, you can protect assets and keep your family’s wealth intact. Because there is a 50 to 50 chance that the average adult will spend at least a year in a long-term care facility, it becomes painfully clear that this type of planning is extremely important.

3. Avoid probate, during your lifetime and when you die. Do you want the court to control you or your property? Probate proceedings are public, expensive and time consuming and should be avoided whenever possible. Leave your money to your heirs quickly, privately and efficiently by establishing a suitable estate plan.

4. Protect children from a previous marriage if you die first. Planning for a second marriage can be complex and tricky. Expert legal guidance is needed to ensure that your assets are preserved and that the children of your first marriage receive the proper share of your inheritance.

5. Protect assets inherited by their heirs from lawsuits, divorces and other claims. Make sure your loved ones inherit your assets, not the people you don’t want to get them, like your ex-spouses, in-laws, creditors, or the IRS.

6. Discipline children or grandchildren who may not be able or experienced in managing wealth. Make sure your children or grandchildren spend their inheritance wisely, and protect your inheritance against inexperience and mismanagement by including specific conditions and rewards in your estate plan.

7. Provide for children and grandchildren with special needs. Loss of government benefits can wipe out your estate. Special considerations and planning are needed to avoid the loss of government benefits.

8. Make sure that a specific part of your estate goes to your grandchildren, charities, etc. Without planning, a judge will decide who gets your property. Pre-planning your estate ensures that your intentions and instructions are followed.

9. Protect a portion of your estate if you die first and your surviving spouse remarries. Special trusts, commonly known as “AB trusts,” can be created to protect your current surviving spouse and to ensure that her assets do not end up in the wrong hands. Take action now to protect your family.

10. Address the different needs of different children. No two children are the same. Personalized estate planning can ensure that each child’s personal needs are addressed in the way she sees fit.

11. Prevent or discourage challenges to your estate plan. Establishing a well-drafted and complete revocable living trust now makes it more difficult for objections when you are no longer around to speak for yourself.

12. Encourage and reward your heirs who make smart life choices and prevent the depletion of their estate for those who don’t. There may be a point where giving a child more money can make them less productive and less happy. A family incentive trust can be customized with financial incentives that embrace your family’s values ​​and goals to encourage and motivate your children. Such a trust can be a loving way to support your children while inspiring them to be productive members of society and fostering their sense of self-worth.

13. Ensure the education of children, or grandchildren, despite what they (or their parents) dream of doing with the inheritance. Setting up an educational trust can ensure that your children or grandchildren use their inheritance for education and not finance a Las Vegas vacation.

14. Plan a “Brady Bunch” family estate plan and ensure that a stepparent does not spend his children’s inheritance and/or supports a spouse without sacrificing the intended legacy for children from a previous marriage. A divorce and subsequent marriage can have devastating effects on the inheritance you intend for your children if your estate plan is not reviewed and updated. Often times, the original “traditional” estate plan will not meet the needs or provide the necessary protection for your new blended family, so proper planning is imperative.

15. Pursuing charitable goals that you might not otherwise feel you can afford. Cutting probate expenses significantly allows you to also leave a legacy to a charity you admire.

If your wealth or disposition wishes fall into any of the above groups, you should contact an estate planning attorney in your area. Many times, waiting to make a decision about the distribution of your wealth or deciding who can make decisions for you in the event of death or disability will make your dreams for your children and grandchildren, or your favorite charity, never, ever come true. reality. Therefore, delaying in creating an estate plan can cause a great deal of confusion, trouble and expense for your heirs that can be easily avoided by contacting a highly qualified, trained and proven estate planning specialist in your area.