How to Make an Estate Plan That Takes Your Family’s Needs Into Account

Overland Park estate planning attorneys at the law firm of Parman & Easterday can provide the professional assistance you need to make a personalized estate plan that will take your unique family needs into account. Making a simple will is often not sufficient to ensure that your family is provided for in the best way possible.  It is important to get help from qualified attorneys who understand the other tools available that will secure your legacy.

The law firm of Parman & Easterday is here to help you. We will work with you to develop a step-by-step approach towards identifying the needs of your heirs or beneficiaries and making sure your loved ones are sufficiently provided for and protected in case something happens to you.

Give us a call today to find out more about the personalized assistance our Overland Park estate planning attorneys can offer or read on to find out about how your estate planning process can take your family’s unique needs into account.

Consider Who Your Heirs or Beneficiaries Will Be

The first thing you need to do is to decide who will receive your estate; in other words, your assets.  While many people decide to leave all of their wealth to their spouse, you may also want to ensure you directly provide an inheritance to children or other loved ones.  You may want to leave money to a specific charitable organization. You should consider carefully what you want to do with your assets as this will inform you and our estate planning attorneys about the appropriate legal tools you need to use to pass on your wealth.

Identify Any Special Issues Your Heirs Could Face as a Result of an Inheritance

Once you know who you’ll be leaving money to, consider whether your potential heirs or beneficiaries have any special issues to address or any circumstances that could adversely impact them if they receive an inheritance. For example, if you were considering leaving assets to a disabled loved one who is receiving means-tested Medicaid, you’ll need to make sure you structure the inheritance in such a way that those benefits are not lost.

Other special circumstances where you may need to use special estate planning tools to provide for heirs or beneficiaries include when you are leaving money to someone under 18, when you end up owing estate tax because of the large size of your estate, when your spouse is a foreign citizen, or when you have irresponsible heirs or beneficiaries and you’re worried about them squandering an inheritance.

Make Effective Use of Legal Tools To Facilitate the Transfer of Assets to Loved Ones

There are a wide variety of different legal tools that you can use to facilitate the timely transfer of assets to loved ones in a way that meets their needs. For example, if you know your family will be counting on an inheritance for their financial support after you pass away because you were the primary breadwinner, you’ll want to prioritize using legal tools that allow for assets to transfer as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.  In those situations, using tools such as a living trust will allow assets to quickly pass though the trust administration process, making it the best course of action.

There are additional tools that may be appropriate.  Examples include a special needs trust to provide for a disabled loved one, a pet trust to provide for pets that you want to ensure are cared for, and a spendthrift trust to ensure an inheritance left to an irresponsible heir is managed appropriately and not at risk of being immediately lost to bankruptcy or creditor claims. Identifying the right tools is vital to ensuring the smooth transfer of assets.

Getting Help from Overland Park Estate Planning Attorneys

Overland Park estate planning attorneys can help you make use of a variety of estate planning tools – trusts, a last will and testament, joint ownership, pay on death accounts, and other appropriate legal tools – that will protect your family in the most appropriate way.

To learn how our legal team can help you to ensure your family is taken care of no matter what happens to you in the future, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call today at (405) 843-6100 or (913) 385-9400 or contact us online to get personalized one-on-one advice about making your estate plan. Call now to get your plan underway.