Many people question whether they really need to do any estate planning. After all, the general public perception of an Estate Planning Attorney in Jefferson County MO may be someone who helps the rich and famous decide how to distribute their vast wealth once they pass away. This is actually a huge misconception because estate planning is for nearly everybody. The term estate may be a bit misleading, actually. An estate does not have to refer to a huge home and massive bank accounts. It refers to anything that an individual owns, and in fact anything that an individual has responsibility for.
Estate planning is an excellent way to make sure that any possessions that a person has, whether they are very valuable or only sentimentally valuable, go to the right persons when they die. It is also the best way to make sure that the right person will inherit a home, property, bank accounts, retirement accounts, or insurance policy proceeds. In many cases, estate planning also has an impact on the way that custody of minor children is determined.
If an estate is planned properly, the custodian of any minor children will be settled well ahead of death. This can include putting any funds available away into an account that the minor children can’t access until they are of legal age. With estate planning, it is even possible to change the release of property or funds from age 21 to nearly any other age desired. Some parents even prefer to make disbursement of funds contingent on factors like marriage or graduation from college. This type of estate planning allows parents to have the highest degree of control over the financial well-being of their minor children, even after they pass away.
Many people who do estate planning also choose to lay out plans for their funeral within the documents. This is an easy way to remove the burden of such decisions from the survivors and the family. Estate planning can include nearly anything, so it’s not all about money. If you are interested in working with an Estate Planning Attorney in Jefferson County MO, visit the website to find out more today!
