Contrary to what some believe, Howell estate planning attorneys aren’t here just for the wealthiest members of our community. In fact, after years of experience we come to see how nearly every person in Howell can benefit from putting together an estate plan, including a will. While you may not feel that you have a lot of assets to protect or believe that your family knows your wishes and will follow them, here are some points to ponder in determining if perhaps you really should hire a Howell estate planning attorney after all.
Make Your Estate More Valuable
The idea of making an estate more valuable should actually be pretty important to those who don’t consider themselves to be “wealthy.” With the help of a good estate planning lawyer, you can work toward a more comfortable future, as well as to maximize the assets that you do have. With a retirement plan, life insurance, and other planning tools, things can start to look a lot different than you expected. Not only that, but you’ll also be able to leave an inheritance behind for your loved ones.
Protect Your Privacy (and Your Family’s)
When working with an estate planning attorney in Howell, you will want to look at the possibility of setting up some sort of trust. Again, these types of legal tools are NOT just for the rich or well-to-do. There are many, many advantages to having a trust, but one of those that resonates with a lot of folks in Howell is the fact that assets placed into a trust do not necessarily have to go through the very public probate process. This affords way more privacy regarding your estate, what you’ve left behind, and other details that you’d prefer to keep private.
Name Guardians for Your Children
No matter how much money you’ve got in the bank or elsewhere, if you have minor children, there is no question that you need to hire an estate planning attorney to draw up guardianship and other important documents. If you become incapacitated or pass away without these incredibly important papers legally filed, then you are basically giving the court system carte blanch to determine what happens to your children. They make these decisions based on certain legal precedents, and there is a dangerously high chance that the guardian chosen for your children under 18 will NOT be the person you would have chosen. This should be enough to send pretty much every parent in Howell running to a good estate planning attorney!
Do It While You Can
It’s not uncommon for <insert city> residents to want to put off estate planning until they absolutely have to think about it. The problem that they and their estate planning attorney run into, however, is that you can wait too long. When putting together a will or other estate planning documents, the court needs to be satisfied that you are of sound mind and body. If you’ve recently found out you’re gravely ill or are losing cognitive function, an estate plan can be rendered invalid on those grounds.
The bottom line is that nearly everyone in Howell would end up in a better position by working with an estate planning attorney. From professional retirement planning to naming guardians to protecting your own privacy and more, if you haven’t yet started the process, now is the time!
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Feelings of guilt, shame, disappointment, and fear of the unknown are common in people who are going through or have gone through a divorce. When a relationship starts to fall apart, the dreams of the couples are shattered causing most couples to feel like a failure while others may make themselves immune of whatever is happening around them by acting as uninformed. While such feelings are bound to exist, and are normal to experience, the news of your Orange County divorce needs to be told to a few people. Here are a few of the people who you should tell about your divorce.
Family
When we say family, we mean your immediate family. These consist of your children, your parents, and you siblings. The most important part is telling your children because this decision will have an ever lasting impact on their lives. Making sure you tell them in a way that they understand is vital. While they are being told about this decision, there has to reiterations to them about your love and care for them. Your parents and siblings will act as your buffer. They are likely to help you get through this difficult period and assure you of their acceptance of you and your decision.
Friends
Your friends mean your closest friends. These people have been closest to you for a number of years and just like all the other secrets you can share with them, they need to know about your divorce. Your friends are your main support group. They will help you avoid that feeling of being alone and hounded.
Financial Advisor
Your financial advisor should know that you are going through a divorce irrespective if it’s a divorce mediation or litigation. These are the people who’ll help draw up your financial list and tell you what you’ll need in terms of finances in the post divorce time. It is important that you and your financial advisor are honest about your assets because hiding assets and lying about them will only draw the divorce longer.
Business Partner
If you own any kind of a business in partnership, you need to inform your business partner(s) regarding your divorce. This is important because your divorce can have an impact on the division of shares and profits and other financial matters, and the other stakeholders in the business should know about it.
Estate Planning Attorney
Your estate and property are all part of your list of assets, and during a divorce these are likely to have an impact. Telling this to your estate planner is vital because they’ll help you in the planning for the future and figuring out the best picks in your divorce mediation agreement.
Irrespective of the method of divorce you choose, the myth that divorce should be secretive and kept between the lawyers and the concerned parties only isn’t true. To help you through a divorce both emotionally and financially, you need people and they need to be informed about your decision. While the method does not matter in terms of informing others, it matters if you want a smooth divorce.
Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Irvine divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.