Preparing for the future is something that we should all do, but many of us fail to do adequately. There may be a few reasons for this. First, many of us keep telling ourselves that we have time to prepare for the future. The problem is that we keep telling ourselves that until, eventually, we are out of time. The second reason we put off planning for the future is that we are afraid of what we must confront. This may be especially true when it comes to estate planning, as most of us don’t want to think about the end of life.
Yet, estate planning shouldn’t cause you to think about yourself. Instead, estate planning is about figuring out how best to take care of those you love. When a well thought-out estate plan is kicked into action, beneficiaries can be left assets in accordance with an individual’s wishes, taxes may be avoided and excess costs may be dodged. Additionally, an estate plan can create powers of attorney that ensure that your medical and financial decisions will be adhered to in the event that you are suddenly rendered unable to make those decisions.
Of course, estate planning can be a complicated matter. Wills, trusts and powers of attorney all need to be carefully drafted to ensure that they fulfill your needs and wishes. If you fail to create your plan in a way that is clear and legal, then you may leave your estate open to dispute. Beneficiaries may wind up fighting over assets, those who were not named beneficiaries may fight to get a piece of what they think they deserve, and, even once those matters are settled, the estate may be subjected to hefty costs.
This is why the legal team at the Frankfort Law Group sits down with each client who is interested in estate planning to obtain a clear sense of what they hope to get out of the process. Then, utilizing that knowledge and our decades of experience, we go to work crafting the legal instruments necessary to allow their vision for their estate to come into fruition. Choosing an estate planning attorney is something that should not be taken lightly, though, which is why many Illinois residents find it beneficial to conduct a consultation before moving forward.