You have worked hard to provide for and protect your family, but there is still more that you can do for them in the future. An estate plan is perhaps one of the smartest and most practical things that you can do to help your family. When you are considering your estate plan, whether it is a new or existing one, you should always obtain legal help. Contact our Rosebud estate and probate lawyers at the Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard today for more information.

What Is in an Estate Plan?

Your estate plan is a comprehensive choice of selections and documents that are intended to take care of both you and your family in the future. At its core, your estate plan will consist of a will and beneficiary designations for accounts that require them. 

Most people realize that an estate plan determines who will inherit your property, but there is more to it than that. For example, your estate plan also includes crucial documents like powers of attorney that allow someone else to make financial and healthcare decisions for you when you are no longer able to do so yourself. In addition, your estate plan also specified who will be the guardian of your minor children if you and the other parent are no longer here. These are critical choices that you must memorialize in writing in documents that will be legally effective when you need them. 

Why Do I Need an Estate Plan Now?

Since an estate plan consists of legal documents, there are limits on your capacity to execute them. For example, you cannot enter into any valid contract or formalize any legal document if you lack the physical or mental capacity to do so. In other words, there may be a point in time when it is too late for you to devise an estate plan.

Your plan also gives your family peace of mind. If you do not have everything down in writing, there will always be some worries in the back of their mind about what they will do when an unfortunate time comes. Even though your family will need to do some work (such as an executor of a will or someone who holds power of attorney to act for you), they will at least know that there is a plan in place.

Why You Should Not Try to Do Your Own Estate Plan

There is too much at stake to try to go it alone on your estate plan. Some people may think that they can save money by doing research on the internet and using template documents for an estate plan. The problem with that approach is that mistakes can be extremely costly for your family. You run the risk of not having effective legal documents when you need them, such as an invalid power of attorney. Then, your family may be forced into difficult situations, such as having to seek guardianship. If your will is invalid, you will lose all say over who inherits your property because Texas intestacy laws would then apply.

Hiring a lawyer for an estate plan is an investment that you should make for the sake of your family. Then, you will receive customized advice that is tailored to your specific situation. Your estate planning lawyer will then draft the documents for your signature and execution, giving you comfort that comes from knowing that everything has been done correctly. In the scheme of things, hiring an estate planning lawyer is a small price to pay for your family’s well-being.

So I Have an Estate Plan… What Now?

The documents that you have in place are what will be effective when the time comes. Your family is bound by the selections that you have made that are memorialized on paper. If circumstances have changed, your estate plan must change along with them. For example, the executor of your will may have either passed away, or they may be someone different whom you may trust to carry out this task. 

You may have an ex-spouse still designated as the beneficiary on an account. You must actively remove and change beneficiaries because they are not amended on their own. Accordingly, you should review your estate plan periodically or upon the occurrence of certain events, such as divorce. 

Types of Legal Matters We Handle

At the Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard, we handle the following types of matters:

• Wills
• Guardianships
• Powers of attorney
• Probate
• Probate disputes 

Contact a Rosebud Estate Planning Lawyer 

If you do not yet have an estate plan, or you need to make changes to your existing one, speak to a Rosebud estate planning attorney at the Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard. We can get to know you and your circumstances before giving legal advice for your situation. Schedule a free initial consultation with an estate planning lawyer by visiting our website or by calling us today at (254) 220-4225.