Different Ways to Plan Your Estate

It is always important to do estate planning before you feel like you need it. Having your estate planned means that your loved ones will be taken care of, even after your passing. An experienced estate planning lawyer, like a lawyer from Theus Law Offices, will be able to help look at all of your assets, how you take care of your friends and family, and help determine what is the most important thing to have planned for your assets once you are gone. 

Set Up a Trust

You are able to set up one or several trusts to different people so that the government cannot tax the items you put in the trusts. This is a great way to take care of your loved ones and make the probate process much easier after you pass away. Items in trusts do not go through the probate process, so the people who are collecting items from the trusts can access their items as quickly as you intend them to. Trusts can also save things like money for college tuition or other specific items. You can leave a trust to someone and allow them to access it at a date of your choosing. This is a popular choice when leaving things to minors. Often, someone may give a minor access to a trust at their eighteenth birthday. 

Choose an Executor 

Your estate planning lawyer can help you choose the right executor for your estate. This will be someone who is fair and cares to make sure your wishes are executed after your passing. Your lawyer will be there to make sure your estate is distributed properly, but it is important to have someone you trust as the executor just to make the process easier once you are gone. 

Give Away Gifts 

Finally, you can give gifts to loved ones while you are still around to make sure that they get things that you want them to and so they can avoid giving more money to the government. So many things get taxed, and your estate can be included in this. If you want to see your friends and family benefit more fully from your estate, you should give things like money and valuables to them while you are still around. Another bonus to this is that you get to watch your loved ones enjoy your items while you are alive. 

Contact a Lawyer Today

Do not wait to plan your estate until it is too late. Contact a lawyer today to begin the estate planning process.