3 Ways An Estate Lawyer Can Help You Protect Your Assets

Estate planning is extremely important when you have a family. At some point, life will come to an end. Estate planning allows you to decide how your assets will be distributed among those who are most important to you. If you fail to do this, then the laws where you live and probate courts will have to deal with it. 

This can be very difficult for your loved ones who you have left behind. If you are still sitting on the fence about estate planning, here are some of the main reasons why you should consider it.

More Than a Will

Estate planning goes far beyond what a will can do. Estate planning will give specific power to appointed individuals in the case that you become incapacitated in some way so they will be able to take care of your finances for you.

Estate planning will also give specific directives about the type of medical treatments you prefer if you cannot make these decisions for yourself. Additionally, it outlines who will be beneficiaries of your assets. If you want to protect yourself in this way, you can ask an estate lawyer to assist you.

Protect Your Child

Estate planning will protect your child if something happens to you. You can stipulate who will get custody of your child. If you fail to plan, the court will have to intervene and appoint a guardian for them. Normally, this will be a family member or even a family friend. 

If there are no family members or friends that are willing or able to take on the task. Your child will become a word of the state. You can avoid all this from happening by working with an estate lawyer to carefully plan out who will take care of your child if you die. 

It's not just the care of your child that estate planning will cover but finances as well. You can set up a trust for your child so that they will be able to access the funds that you have left them at a specific age.

Protect Your Business 

If you have worked an entire lifetime to build a business and have been successful at it, chances are you want it to be passed on to someone else at death. Estate planning allows you to name a successor for your business and clearly define what happens to your business once you die.

Taking the time to effectively plan for your business in this way, can help you pass on your hard work to the next generation. If you need help with this, simply contact an estate lawyer as they are qualified to assist you with this process.

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