People typically associate the term estate planning with the super-rich lot. But, in actuality, everyone can benefit from it. Pre-deciding how to distribute assets amongst your loved ones after you are gone can protect their rights and reduce future hassle. Just don’t think that family dynamics and financial status matter here. Even if there isn’t a pricey home, large individual retirement account, or valuable art to pass on, your absence can be extremely stressful for your family, and a financial struggle can arise.
In that case, an estate plan in place can help settle finances and other affairs for them and avoid potentially devastating consequences after your death. So, if you have never thought of planning your estate, you must do it now. Here is the list of advantages to avail –
- Provide Support to Immediate Family
In your estate plan, you can provide enough money for your surviving spouse or dependent parents. You can nominate your relative’s or friend’s name who should take care of your children if both you and your spouse pass on. With everything specified in detail, you can live and die in peace, knowing that everyone in your family will be well-supported.
- Prepare for Unfortunate Incapacity
Life can present unwished circumstances at any moment. You can never know when some kind of mental or physical capacity knocks on the door and tries to snatch away your financial and emotional stability. With a will or estate plan thoughtfully created beforehand, you can decide who will look after you or medical treatments.
- Distribute the Wealth Wishfully
Without an estate plan, the courts will decide who gets your assets. That is a very complex process that often takes years to settle, thereby adding up to the lawyer fees and ugly fights amongst envious family members. Since the court wouldn’t know which sibling has been responsible and who shouldn’t have free access to cash, you better decide for yourself.
- Safeguard Ancestral Property
As your family’s business grows wealthier, competitors can drag your hard-earned assets into lawsuits and make their way to capitalize on them. However, with estate planning, you can remove your and others’ names from ownership and put the property or money into legal protection, thereby preserving it for generations to come.
- Take Care of Young Children
Nobody thinks to die at a young age, but when you are parents to small children, you have to prepare for the worst scenarios of life and prepare for it in advance. To ensure that your kids’ rights are protected and supported, you have to leave behind a trustworthy guardian to look after them. Don’t leave it up to the courts, be your judge and make arrangements, so the children get raised in the right hands.
- Support Charity
You may have a list of philanthropic intentions that you want to have fulfilled after you die. Developing an estate plan is the best way to ensure that your goals are implemented into the future. That can be anything from creating a family foundation, setting a charitable trust, or lending backend support to other causes important to you.