Grand Rapids Estate Planning Attorney
How can you ensure that your family is properly cared for when you die? After a lifetime of building your estate, the last thing you want is for someone else to make financial decisions on behalf of your family.
Fortunately, the Grand Rapids attorneys at Britt Law Group know that a well-written and thoroughly thought-out estate plan allows you to control your assets and their allocation after you are gone.
Trust the experienced estate plan attorneys at Britt Law Group to help you leave your family in good hands with an estate plan that carries out your wishes.
How to Protect Yourself and Your Family
There are three necessary documents to protect you and the ones you love, including: the Will, the Medical Power of Attorney, and the Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Matters. Everyone knows that the Will defines what happens to your assets after your passing, but who makes the financial and medical decisions if you become unable to make decisions for yourself? Having all three documents is critical to ensure that the decisions made for you are your own.
How to Create An Effective Estate Plan:
Will
The will allows you to dictate exactly what you would like to give and to whom. For parents with children, a will allows you to appoint an appropriate guardian for the children. In the event that both parents die, a will can also designate an individual to manage their inheritance.
Living Trust
Many estate plans include a living trust, which not only avoids the probate process and any legal fees and court costs that come with it, but controls exactly how and when your heirs receive their inheritance. Though trusts cost an initial fee, the potential benefits usually far outweigh the costs.
Trusts come in two basic types: revocable and irrevocable. Though revocable trusts receive an estate tax, you can make any changes you need throughout your life. With an irrevocable trust, you can’t make any changes after you create it, but it isn’t subjected to an estate tax.
What many individuals are not aware that they can set up a special needs trust to protect the future, without the big expense now. A trust provides you with complete control over who distributes your assets, who receives assets, when and how the assets are distributed, and more. This gives you the peace of mind that your plans have been clearly laid out for the future trust, and those those you love will be cared for when you are no longer able to do so.
Power of Attorney
You may appoint a power of attorney for two areas: financial and medical. If there ever comes a time when you’re too sick to manage your finances, the power of attorney allows someone you trust to manage them for you.
Similarly, if you ever become incapable of making medical decisions for yourself (i.e. being in a coma), you can appoint someone you trust to make them for you.
If you’re worried that you cannot afford an estate plan, Britt Law Group will work with you to create a simple one that you can afford. With years of experience and knowledge, the attorneys at Britt Law Group have the tools to create an estate plan that fits both your needs and your budget.
If you are ready to talk about creating an estate plan to help secure your family’s future, contact us or call our office directly at 616.866.2700.