You work hard to acquire assets during your lifetime. Estate planning is your opportunity to direct what happens to those assets when you die or become incapacitated. You can accomplish an incredible number of things through your ““plan. However, if you leave no directions or poor directions, most likely your desires will not be followed, extra costs will arise, and family conflict may result.

Below are eleven important reasons to do or review your estate plan. Just ask yourself whether any of these apply to you. If you have already done your planning, ask whether your plan does everything below or needs to be reviewed. A good estate planning attorney should accomplish everything below and much more whether you are planning for the first time or reviewing an existing plan. You can tip your relatives and friends off to the ideas also. Just call, email, or text me if you have questions or if I can help. The eleven great reasons to do or review your estate planning are:

1. You have never done your estate planning. You are choosing to let the government decide where your assets will go, who manages them, and what taxes will be paid on your death or incapacity.
2. You own an asset that will require the expense of a probate when you die but are unaware of it. A careful estate planning attorney will review the owner and beneficiary of every one of your assets and advise you of changes needed to avoid probate.
3. You have not properly named those you want to receive each one of your assets after your death or want to change those named, the amount they will receive, or when assets will be received. Also, you cannot remember what your estate plan provides or a beneficiary you named has died. A good estate planning attorney will help see that every one of your assets has the right owner, beneficiary, and will or trust instruction to go to those you desire and with minimal taxes and cost.
4. You have not named the person who should manage your assets on your death or incapacity or their successor, or you want to change someone you previously named. Having the wrong person manage your assets can lead to big problems.
5. Your spouse may remarry after you die, or you yourself have married, remarried, or divorced since doing your estate plan. Your spouse’s remarriage after your death may misroute your assets. Also, your own marriage, remarriage or divorce automatically revises your estate plan and often in ways you did not intend. A good estate planning attorney will see that your desires are accomplished.
6. You or someone you have named to receive assets upon your death needs protection from any one of the following ­­ mental or physical incapacity, a divorce, creditors or bankruptcy, a lawsuit, an addiction, inexperience, irresponsibility, unwise spending, being easy to improperly influence or mislead, a terminal illness, an effort to overturn their estate plan, or needs to qualify to receive government medicaid or disability benefits. A knowledgeable estate planning attorney can offer protection from all of these things.
7. You have put your child’s name or another person’s name (other than your spouse) on an asset you own, including on a bank account. Putting another person’s name on an asset may disinherit another family member, increase income taxes, create gift tax consequences, allow the other person’s creditors and/or divorcing spouse to take your assets, and cut you off from Medicaid benefits. Your estate planning attorney offers much better ways to avoid probate and take care of your assets if you are incapacitated.
8. You have not signed written instructions regarding your medical care if you become unconscious or incompetent, or you wish to change someone you named to make medical decisions. Also, you wish to name or change the person who would become your guardian if you are incapacitated or change someone you named as current or successor guardian of your children who are under age 18.
9. You have loaned money to a family member, but your estate plan does not say whether to forgive this loan when you die or reduce the debtor’s inheritance for it. A good estate planning attorney will clarify what you desire.
10. You own an asset with more than one owner (other than your spouse), such as a cabin, farm, ranch, piece of real estate, family business, an inherited asset, or an asset or trust still in the name of someone who died. Alternatively, you own an asset that will likely have more than one owner when you die, such as a cabin, farm, ranch, or family business. These assets often create disputes, lawsuits, loss of value, and extra taxes as time passes unless an experienced estate planning attorney helps you.
11. You want to reduce income taxes and estate taxes after you die. For example, you own an asset that will create extra income taxes after your death but are unaware of it. This may include retirement benefits, annuities, jointly owned assets, and business entities. You own a tangible asset located in another state or country that will create estate taxes and a probate. Your net worth combined with your spouse’s is now well under the estate tax limit of $5,340,000, however, your assets are still going to pass on the first spouse’s death to a trust designed to shelter assets from estate taxes. This can increase income taxes. Alternatively, you are exposed to Federal or State estate taxes at death because all of your assets (including life insurance death benefits and inheritances you will receive from others) along with your spouse’s assets exceed $5,340,000. A knowledgeable estate planning attorney can usually help eliminate or reduce all of these taxes.