What Do You Need?
Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 10:22 am
A Harris Interactive poll (2008) found that 55% of adults don’t have wills. Maybe some don’t want to think about dying, but the truth is: majority doesn’t know how to start one or who to talk to.
An estate plan may be as simple as creating a will or it could also be as complex as building up a living will or trust. You can talk with a qualified attorney to be enlightened on this but remember that it’s important to create one because you want to ensure the destiny of your assets as well as your children. When you don’t have any of these, the state will have a free hand on where to take your money and your children along with it when you pass away.
Choose what you need. A will is an instruction document that states your assets and the individuals or institutions where you want to give it to. Most wills go to probate after your death. A probate court will oversee inheritance distribution and debt payment. A living trust sets up conditions on when and how to distribute your assets. This will help reduce the taxes paid and avoid probate. Finally, a living will provides an assignment of medical power of attorney given to a person you trust.
Tags: assets, attorney, death, estate plan, Harris Interactive poll, living will, probate, state, trust, Wills