Your loss someday will be hard on many that love you, and no one wants to make it even harder. That’s where a will or trust can be one of the most valuable things left behind for your family. Probate can be a difficult and time-consuming process made even worse with no clear directive as to who is to receive assets or even execute the division of assets upon your death. Without a legal document or entity for this process, it is left to the court to make decisions for you.
Estate Planning is Essential
Using legal counsel like a probate lawyer Orlando-based is crucial to preventing a drawn-out process that could result in family disharmony upon your passing. Estate planning is the preparation for managing your assets upon your death. It not only determines what goes to heirs but the settlement of taxes. Estate planning will include establishing and updating a will or trust. It will also name an estate executor and plan for funeral arrangements. Often, strategies are used in estate planning to limit taxes on an estate.
Trusts are Effective
Establishing a trust can be the best route to take in estate planning. A trust has many benefits over a will as it is an entity holding the assets that will survive you. Since the trust is a “living” entity that stays in place, it owns and continues to own the assets upon your death, avoiding the need for probate altogether. Instead of the assets passing to your beneficiaries, control of the trust passes to them.
We never like to consider planning on our deaths, but it is a necessity. Estate planning is essential to prevent a stressful process once we are gone.