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(Estate) Planning for the New Year

By January 21, 2015July 21st, 2023Estate Planning, Patricia Bland Featured

By: Patricia L. Bland

The first of January has come and gone and perhaps you made some resolution or plan for the year 2015. Eating healthier, losing weight, and saving money are some of the most common resolutions made. But why not make a resolution to put into place a proper estate plan in 2015?

Just as with many other resolutions made for the New Year, preparing an estate plan is not an easy task. Many people delay preparing an estate plan because they dread thinking of their mortality. Additionally, they may feel that their net worth doesn’t warrant an estate plan or that they are too young to need an estate plan. None of these are reasons not to make a plan.

A proper estate plan provides an individual with peace of mind that their assets will be distributed to the heirs identified by them, their children will be properly cared for, and, most importantly, that after passing, the estate can be orderly administered, without need for probate administration or other court filings.

While estate planning involves the preparation of common documents, such as a will, health care declaration, and power of attorney, the most important part of estate planning involves a survey of an individual’s assets and the proper titling of those assets so that each asset may be transferred without the need for a probate administration. Probate court, while necessary in certain circumstances, can be avoided entirely with proper planning. What better gift to your descendants than to allow them the opportunity to properly grieve your parting this earth and not weighing them down with the burden of administering your estate?

Start the year off right and set the goal of preparing your estate plan in 2015!

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