Estate planning is a journey, but it is a journey that can make a difference in terms of your peace of mind and your financial legacy. You needn’t be wealthy nor nearing the end of your life to have estate planning needs. If you have someone who depends on you, have someone whose future you will like to contribute to, or are interested in addressing concerns related to making financial and medical decisions in the future, you have estate planning needs. An experienced Fort Cavazos Estate and Probate attorney at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard can help you effectively address them. 

The Significance of Estate Planning in Your Life

Estate planning is not based solely on our mortality. Instead, it affords us the opportunity to address the unpredictability of life. This includes having plans in place for the distribution of assets on death, legal guardianship of minor children, and decision-making authority in the event of incapacitation.

If you don’t have estate plans in place, state laws will prevail. For example, if you die without a will, your assets will be distributed according to the laws of intestacy in Texas. And the bottom line is that these may not come anywhere close to the preferences you would have included in your will if you had one. 

If you have legally binding estate plans in place, you won’t need to rely on the state’s default mechanism. If you don’t bother with estate planning, however, your estate will be resolved as a matter of the state’s exacting laws.  

The plans you put into effect now are designed to help ensure that your wishes will be upheld when the time comes and to help protect your heirs’ rights of inheritance. Ultimately, putting careful consideration into your estate plans can help in all the following ways:

• Streamlining the process of distributing your assets to your loved ones
• Reducing the risk that conflict will arise during probate or that your last will and testament will be contested
• Minimizing the legal expenses involved with winding up your estate
• Affording you confidence in the future that is otherwise difficult to achieve

Early Steps 

If you are just getting started with estate planning, there are some early steps that everyone in your position should take. These include inventorying your assets, which will give you a good idea of what you’re working with. 

Your Assets

Your assets include everything of value, such as cash, your bank accounts, your investments, and those possessions that have value attached. It’s important to take family heirlooms, other items with sentimental value, and digital assets into consideration as well. 

The only things of value that will not go through the probate process are those accounts that name a beneficiary, those titles that have a distribution on death designation, or anything that is held in a trust. Everything else you should inventory and ultimately address in your will. 

Your Goals and Objectives

From here, you’ll want to identify your goals and objectives in relation to your estate plans. This can include specifying your heirs, naming any charities you’d like to support, and listing candidates whom you trust to take over decision-making authority in the event you are incapacitated. 

When it comes to this decision-making, you will turn to powers of attorney. A person with medical power of attorney (POA) can make important medical decisions if you are unable to. And their authority can be limited to decisions that are outside the specifications set by your living will. With financial power of attorney, on the other hand, the individual can make key financial decisions on behalf of your best interests if incapacitation prevents you from making them.

Have Professional Legal Counsel on Your Side

One of the most important actions you can take regarding your estate plans is consulting with an accomplished estate and probate lawyer early on. Their guidance will afford you a clearer perspective, allowing you to make decisions that best suit your needs going forward.

Establish Your Financial Legacy

Your financial legacy refers to the estate you leave your loved ones, and the more effort you put into your estate planning, the more profound your legacy is likely to be. Your last will and testament will outline your wishes in this regard and will name the executor of your estate. 

Your executor will guide your estate all the way through probate. This includes paying your final bills, filing your final tax return, and distributing your assets to your beneficiaries according to your wishes. 

Make the Call to an Experienced Fort Cavazos Estate and Probate Lawyer

Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a resilient Fort Cavazos Estate and Probate attorney who has earned an impressive reputation in the estate planning arena. And he is well prepared to help you achieve the peace of mind that comes from having your affairs in order. Learn more by contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 today.