No one likes thinking about death, especially if the death is your own. But if you have a large estate, you owe it to your family and friends to do some homework ahead of that day to ensure that your loved ones are properly provided for. If you want this process to play out as easily as possible, you also owe your family an estate law attorney who can take the reins during what will no doubt be a difficult time. Here are three things a good estate law attorney can do for you and your family after your death.
Serve as Executor of the Will
If you have a large estate, you no doubt have (or should have) a last willl and testament describing how your assets will be distributed. It's typical in this situation to entrust one person with the official capacity of ensuring that the will is executed properly and accurately. A will is a legal document and if you don't have anyone in your family who is good at dealing with things like that, some outside help will be ideal. A good lawyer can not only execute the will as described but will also be better equipped to respond to any outside creditors seeking a piece of the estate after you are gone.
Keep Family Fighting to a Minimum
If you believe there might be some dispute within your family as to how you estate will be handed out, having a lawyer in charge of the whole affair can nip potential conflict in the bud. A good lawyer will execute your will according to your wishes, following through on what is written in the document, nothing more, nothing less. Your family can still try and throw a fit if that is the kind of thing some of them generally do, but it's hard to argue with a no nonsense type who is doing everything by the book.
Protect Your Money
Depending on the state you live in and the exact size of your estate, you might be subject to certain taxes after your death or again, there might be some creditors that come calling. If you believe this will be the case, it can be helpful to have a legal expert working on behalf of your family to preserve the assets listed in the will. Make sure your money actually goes to the people you want to have it instead of the government. Sure, there will likely be some taxes no matter what, but your attorney will know what to do to save the estate as much money as possible.
If you have a decent sized estate and have not yet hired an estate attorney, get that taken care of today. An estate law attorney can serve as executor of your will, help prevent needless family infighting and might be able to save you a few dollars when the government or other creditors come calling.
Visit a site like https://ivylawgroup.com for more help.
Share7 March 2018
