Estate planning is all about making arrangements for the loved ones. It is not just for wealthy people and doesn’t need to be complicated. The planning starts with your goals, desires, and aspirations. This includes making a list of your assets along with designating heirs and beneficiaries.
Estate planning is all about who gets what, when, and how much. By making an estate planning checklist, you can decide about the things that are important to you and the kind of arrangements that would best suit your particular requirements. Hiring an experienced attorney can suggest options for creating an estate plan to turn your goals into reality.
Experienced estate planning attorney in Houston, Texas
If you are searching for the best Houston estate planning attorney, The Law Office of Troy M. Moore PLLC is the right choice. The core practice of this law firm is estate planning where they apply legal understanding and experienced perspective to your situation for creating a comprehensive estate plan that protects your loved ones thus, accomplishing your goals.
They provide the best legal advice and thoughtful guidance throughout the process and have helped countless clients develop effective estate plans for more than a decade. Book your appointment today for a free case evaluation with their estate planning attorney, Troy Moore who is proactive for his clients in their probate of estates.
Identify your assets
The first step for creating an estate plan is to identify the assets. They may come in many forms:
- Property like your home and the land acquired.
- Financial securities like life insurance, retirement savings, stocks, or bonds.
- Possessions like cars, jewelry, boats, or artifacts.
- Business assets.
An estate planning attorney will help you in identifying and evaluating your assets. This can be useful when creating the trusts and wills that are the framework for most estate plans.
Compiling the necessary documents
After identifying the assets, it is time to identify and compile the necessary legal documents that are needed to protect and distribute your estate assets. This can be done by hiring a skilled estate planning attorney.
Mentioning heirs and beneficiaries
Next, you will need to mention the names of the people that they wish to inherit. The same principle can be applied to cash distribution through trusts.
However, there are some important things to keep in mind while choosing heirs and beneficiaries.
- Children who are still not adults cannot inherit directly in wills.
- Selecting beneficiaries living in different states or nations may put the estate at risk of being taxable.
An estate planning attorney in Houston will find and rectify any potential issues that might occur during the heir-choosing process.
Creating documents for estate plans
Apart from the conventional will for distributing assets after death, there are other types of estate plan documents that are more creative plans that can use trusts and more flexible methods to benefit the heirs.
Making an estate plan checklist makes your job easy as you do not miss the important points. With the help of a professional estate planning lawyer, you will get through the process seamlessly.
