Live for today, but plan for tomorrow. This isn’t a new phrase, but it certainly holds true for every generation, family, and individual. And planning for the future is without a doubt something that you should do today, not just when you get around to it. Many people feel that estate planning is only for the wealthy. This is absolutely false. Others feel that estate planning is only for older people—also false. No matter what financial status you have attained, and regardless of your age, estate planning is crucially important. Whether you’re in La Jolla, CA or another location across America, hiring an estate planning attorney makes good sense.
Why? The Most Important Reason: Protecting Your Children’s Future
Estate planning is important for a number of reasons, and your attorney will tell you, finances are only one facet of the overall plan. No one knows when their time will come. We’d like to imagine that everyone will live to be one hundred and pass peacefully surrounded by loved ones, but that isn’t always the case. The fact is, we just can’t predict the future. Accidents happen. Illnesses occur. And both arrive without warning. Imagine a man or woman in the prime of their life with young children. What would happen to the children if the family provider was suddenly in a catastrophic accident or succumbed to a severe illness? Imagine you were that family’s provider; would you want your children to be put in a foster home? Would you want them to be wards of the state? You may have always imagined that if something happened to you that your kids would be taken care of by your Aunt Mary whom you adore, and the kids adore, but if that is not explicitly written as part of your estate plan, the courts will be making the decision. This is not what anyone wants. Aunt Mary doesn’t want it. You wouldn’t have wanted it. And the court doesn’t want it. But if you don’t plan for your future, the state (the courts) will be forced to make the decision. But beyond where your children might live if you were to pass or become incapacitated such that you could no longer care for them, how will they be cared for financially? An estate planning attorney can help you make arrangements financially so your children will never be in jeopardy. Trusts are one way that you can safeguard your children’s future in the event that you become unable to actively provide for them on a day to day basis. Simply put, a trust is a legal vehicle that can allow you to pass assets to a trustee who will hold those assets in a designated trust fund for a particular third party (beneficiary). Your estate planning attorney can set up a trust and by doing so you will know that your children will be protected and provided for no matter what happens to you. Trusts decrease hassles and fees for your family members, and generally provide for a smooth process. Additionally, trusts can sometimes help minimize taxes, and spare your children the grief and stress of having to go through probate to divide all of your assets if you were to pass. And also, importantly, your trust can define not only who will receive your assets but how and when they will receive them. This could be especially important if you have a substantial amount of assets and only one child, or two. You may want to make arrangements such that the child is provided for comfortably, but not have access to all of the assets or funds in aggregate. You may not want a child or even a young adult to have that kind of open-ended access, in order to protect them from their own actions or the influences of others who may not have their best interest in mind. A skilled probate attorney or estate planning attorney can help you achieve peace of mind. Contact San Diego Legacy Law and protect your future today.
Why Should You Hire an Estate Planning Attorney? | Single, Children, No Children?
Whether you are single or married, whether you have many children or have none, your estate planning attorney or probate attorney in La Jolla, CA can help you handle complications that will most certainly arise.
Handling Complications Through an Estate Plan: Your Will and So Much More
Many people think that if they have a will set up that everything will be automatically handled after their passing, but a will is only one valuable part of a comprehensive estate plan. And every will is not necessarily a good one, meaning that your will may be out of date, it may not have been carefully drawn up to protect all your assets, and it might not cover every contingency. An experienced wills attorney in La Jolla, CA or the surrounding area can advise you about drafting your first will, amending an old one, or starting over because your current will simply doesn’t cover all the important issues and factors that it should. Remember, many people have law degrees, but not all are qualified to handle estate planning. Just like you wouldn’t want your podiatrist to perform your eye surgery, you don’t want an attorney who specializes in criminal law to handle your estate planning. There are many special areas of consideration that could potentially cause complications, and you’ll want a seasoned estate planning attorney to advise you on each and every one that pertain to you. Whether you’re in La Jolla, CA or another area of our beautiful state, solid estate planning counsel is critically important. Now let’s consider just a few of the many possible complications.
What Kind of Care Do You Want for Yourself? — Durable Power of Attorney
If you are severely injured, who do you want to be named as your executor or guardian? No one wants to think of it, but if you suffer a debilitating brain injury, or other substantial injury, you’ll need to be cared for. Having an estate plan in place will answer many important questions regarding your care, including decisions about life support in critical injuries, medication choices, surgery options, physician choices, and treatment facilities. And you may want to consider setting up a Durable Power of Attorney, which will designate someone specific to be trusted to make many important decisions for you.
These are only a few of the many possible complications that could come up. Bottom line—an estate planning attorney is essential for everyone, regardless of their financial level, regardless of their age. In La Jolla, CA people turn to San Diego Legacy Law, to handle all of their family planning and estate planning issues.
San Diego Legacy Law in La Jolla, CA | Estate Planning Attorney | Probate Attorney
Contact San Diego Legacy Law in La Jolla, CA and protect your future, and the future of all your loved ones, today. Nicole is a skilled estate planning attorney who understands all the nuances of estate and family planning law. Don’t gamble with your future—plan for it.