As a general rule, people don’t like to think about death, which is why many people put off estate planning. In other cases, people don’t think that estate planning is for anybody other than the wealthy. Regardless of whether a person wants to think about dying or not and regardless of how much money a person has, an individual can do well by themselves and their families by consulting with Estate Planning Attorneys in Saint Charles Missouri.
Draw up a Will
The first step to estate planning is to create a will. If a person has a will, it will need to be updated throughout the years to reflect new wishes that they have concerning their assets after they pass away.
The Importance of Naming Beneficiaries
The next step is to name beneficiaries. This is important because if a person’s estate goes through probate, some items may not be eligible for probate, therefore they will not be disseminated through a will. In these cases, leaving additional requests and naming beneficiaries for people who might receive vehicles, houses or other property will be extremely beneficial and save a great deal of confusion after a person has passed away.
Avoiding Estate Taxes if Applicable
If possible, a person should try to consider avoiding estate taxes. This is typically only for people who have a great deal of money. Avoiding estate taxes may mean disseminating wealth and gifts before a person passes away, bundling their liquid assets into life insurance policies or setting up a trust. Either way, for most people, estate taxes are not going to be an issue unless that person is worth at least $10 million or more.
Power of Attorney
The last thing that needs to be done is to create a power of attorney document. This is not only important when a person passes away, but it is important if a person becomes physically or mentally incapable of handling their affairs. Power of attorney will delineate who makes financial and medical decisions for the person that is incapacitated.
There are many other nuances to planning the person’s estate, and those nuances can be adequately covered by speaking with Estate Planning Attorneys in Saint Charles Missouri. If you haven’t made these arrangements already, in terms of Estate Planning Niedner Law may be the law firm that you want to speak to get all of these issues squared away.
