Hello, my name is Susan Farris and my hobby is learning about the law. I have an uncle who is an attorney and I've always looked up to him and that's why I find subjects on law very interesting. Through speaking with my uncle and doing research on my own, I've learned about all the different fields of law. Each field of law centers on its own subject and most attorneys specialize in a certain area of law. These include criminal, personal injury, family, bankruptcy, criminal, immigration and business. I find each one of these fields very interesting and I have the utmost admiration for lawyers because they help people through their legal struggles. I wanted to share this information with others who have questions about the different types of attorneys and the law.
An estate planning attorney is a very specialized individual that focuses on helping you to determine how your assets will be divided once you pass on and how to do so in the best possible way to maximize the inheritance for your beneficiaries. Listed below are two reasons to hire an estate planning attorney.
Minimize The Impact Of Taxes
One of the most important reasons to hire an estate planning attorney is that they will help you to create ways to pass on your estate that will minimize the amount that will be taken by estate taxes. For example, the attorney could have you place the amount of money that you want to pass on to one of your children into an irrevocable trust that places that money both beyond your reach and the reach of probate or estate taxes.
Another option that an estate planning attorney may recommend is a long-term care insurance policy that will be exempt from estate taxes. This option will allow you to purchase an insurance policy that will pay for your medical care until you pass away. At that point, some variants of this insurance policy will allow you to leave the unused benefits to your beneficiaries.
Pay All Taxes And Debts
Among the most important ways that an estate planning attorney can help you is by making sure that any taxes or other debts that you owe are paid off before the beneficiaries get their inheritances. This is very important because neglecting to pay for those issues could actually result in a smaller inheritance in the end. The reason for this is that, if you do not pay the taxes, then the government can actually levy all manner of fines and penalties that your beneficiary will have to pay in addition to paying the owed taxes.
In addition, if a debt is not paid before your beneficiaries take their inheritances, then there is a chance that they can be sued by the debtor. In that situation, the lawsuit can still end up creating a lot of legal debt that will need to be paid if your beneficiaries win the case, which could easily end up taking a large chunk of their inheritance.
Contact an estate planning attorney today to discuss how he or she can help you plan out how your estate will be distributed once you pass away. An estate planning attorney can help minimize the impact of taxes on your beneficiaries and their inheritances while also ensuring that all of the required taxes and debts are paid before distributing those inheritances.
Share27 September 2016
