Estate planning can be an incredibly stressful process, especially when it comes to drafting your will. Why not talk to a will lawyer about your options?
Though it can come with many complications, entrusting the help of an experienced estate planning lawyer can make the procedure run smoothly. While finding the right attorney will require you to ask them several questions, drafting your will requires them to ask you important questions to ensure it reflects your final desires. Here, our estate planning attorney at Handin Law will discuss the importance of these questions.
Will and Estate Planning Basics
It’s difficult to think about our own demise, but drafting a will is crucial to guarantee your assets end up in the proper hands.
In a joint study conducted by Caring.com and YouGov, only 32% had a will. While that number may seem reasonable considering different lifestyles and financial resources, this percentage is down by an astounding 10% since 2017! In these often-difficult times, hiring an estate attorney to draft your will is now more critical than ever.
Questions A Will Lawyer Will Ask
Honestly answering the questions your will lawyer asks and providing as many details as possible makes it easier to draft a fair will with your best interests in mind. Some questions a knowledgeable attorney will ask include:
What Do You Want From Your Will?
Drafting a will can be a confusing process, which is why estate attorneys want to make it as easy as possible. Some frequent questions they may ask include tax issues, whether you care for special needs relatives, your plans to pay for the college tuition of relatives, and other questions to better understand your goals.
What Is Your Family Life Like?
For many, the main goal of drafting a will is to spell out exactly how you wish to distribute your assets upon your passing. Your estate lawyer needs to know your marital status, divorce status, if you have children or stepchildren, whether your parents are still alive, if you take care of any other relatives, among further family details. This critical information helps them better understand who you wish to name as beneficiaries. It is also common to discuss health issues and medical concerns at this time.
What Are Your Assets?
Many people do not understand that all assets do not have to be considered in the will. For example, jointly owned property and life insurance policies should be passed down outside of the will to avoid probate.
Honestly laying out all of your assets allows your lawyer to understand your financial situation and which assets to include in the will. This information also helps determine what your estate taxes will be and how to protect your assets.
How Do You Want To Distribute?
Deciding who gets what may seem like the easiest part of drafting a will, but many complications can arise. It is now also time to discuss if any issues will come about due to allocation to certain people. If you currently have minor children, your attorney will explain your options to form a trust for them and what the stipulations should be.
Who Are Your Fiduciaries?
In simple terms, a fiduciary is who you want to be responsible for your estate after your death. Some choose an executor to control their will or trustees to watch over all of one’s trusts.
Another choice to consider is your power of attorney, who will make financial and medical decisions in the possibility you cannot. This is also the time to discuss guardianship if you have minor children at the time of drafting.
Drafting Your Will With Will Lawyer, Gary I. Handin
Though it can be a long and arduous process, estate planning is necessary to guarantee you have all your affairs in order before your passing. While there are plenty of estate planning attorneys out there, it is in your best interest to hire someone with experience, like our experts at Handin Law.
Since 1969, the Law Offices of Gary I. Handin have helped our clients navigate and draft their wills with only their best interest in mind. If you have any questions about the will drafting process or would like to enlist our lawyers for your estate planning needs, call us today at (954)-796-9600!