There are certain elements that must be satisfied if a person is interested in estate planning, which include some things that are frequently overlooked. Failure to create an estate plan can lead to a variety of negative consequences. Fortunately, an experienced attorney like Jim A Lyon knows how to best anticipate overlooked elements of estate plans.
Incapacity
While many estate plans take death into consideration, they often fail to consider how incapacity can influence a person. Unfortunately, a large number of individuals are likely to experience issues related to incapacity during their lifetimes. One of the most common ways that estate plans take incapacity into consideration is with trusts that are created for the management of a person’s assets during incapacity.
Management of Assets
Some individuals create estate plans for beneficiaries who reach a certain age or goal but fail to create proper management of these assets until these events occur. Details regarding the management of benefits at every step of the process must be included in a reliable estate plan.
Divorce Protection
Many estate plans are written without consideration for how divorce will influence who should be named as a beneficiary. Even if a person is happily married, there is no indication that he or she will remain married until death. It is a wise idea for estate plans to take into consideration how the distribution of assets will change with changing life circumstances.
Protection of Assets
It is critical in creating an estate plan to consider whether any beneficiaries will have creditor issues. For the maximum protection of assets, assets to be assigned to beneficiaries can be placed in discretionary trusts that are controlled by a third party and protected from creditors.
Planning for Digital Assets
An increasing amount of our daily lives is becoming digital. Unfortunately, a large number of estate plans are not designed to handle issues that arise with digital assets. It is a wise idea to have an inventory of accounts and passwords that a person can access after death. If a password is required to access digital devices, estate plans should contain these details as well.
Periodic Review
Many people think that the creation of an estate plan is a one-time effort, but it is critical to frequently check estate plans on a regular basis including after major life events like deaths and births. Even if no major life events have occurred, it is still a wise idea to review your estate plan every three to five years to make sure that all information is up to date and that the estate plan still reflects your wishes.
Speak with an Experienced Estate Planning Lawyer
Estate planning can be challenging and difficult to discuss, which means that many people put off this type of planning as much as possible. By contacting an experienced estate planning lawyer, though, you can make sure that your estate and assets are properly distributed after your death. Speak with attorney Jim A Lyon for assistance with your estate planning case today.