Estate planning can protect an individual’s assets and secure their wellbeing. Property owners on the East End of Long Island work hard for their wealth over their entire lives and want to ensure that their assets are cared for properly. The estate planning attorneys at Sheryll Law, P.C. in Riverhead, NY, can help.
Estate planning involves many complex moving parts and requires comprehensive care. An estate planning attorney can help individuals set everything up according to their wishes. In this article, our team of experienced legal professionals at Sheryll Law, P.C., review the estate planning process, including:
- The top misconceptions
- Hiring an estate planning lawyer
- Creating a power of attorney
- Avoiding the probate process
Common Estate Planning Misconceptions
The worst way an individual can handle estate planning is to make assumptions about anything. We can help discredit the many myths surrounding estate planning matters.
Myth 1: Taxes Should Be the Main Focus of Estate Planning
Many people assume that their tax mitigations should determine their estate plan. While taxes are a vital factor to consider, they do not include a well-rounded view of asset protection. Less than 3% of taxpayers are subject to paying federal estate taxes, so it should not be a significant concern for most individuals.
Myth 2: Children Should Inherit Everything
Children are important, and many people feel that their offspring deserve their wealth. But supporting a child does not always mean leaving them everything. There are many ways to be more innovative with one’s wealth to help the community while still supporting the children.
For example, a person might leave some of their assets to start an organization that will benefit many people. Perhaps the person’s adult children could run this organization, maintain a steady income, and ultimately generate their own lasting wealth.
Myth 3: Children Should Receive Equal Shares
Many people assume that they must split their assets into equal portions when they have multiple children or heirs. Combining emotions with finances is often a mistake because wealth does not equate to care and affection. Different children may have varying wants, needs, and aspirations that unequal levels of wealth can support.
Myth 4: Family-Managed Trusts Take Care of Everything
Creating an irrevocable trust grants access to a trustee, often a family member, and allows them to maintain complete control over the specified asset. This estate planning matter is often helpful, though it can get complicated when the beneficiaries are other family members.
A corporate fiduciary can serve with a family member to keep an unbiased voice, maintain family relationships, and minimize emotional conflict.
Myth 5: Hiring an Estate Planning Attorney Near Me Will Take All of the Work off My Shoulders
Many people assume that their legal team will work in unison to exceed their best interests. While this is the goal, a client must still instruct the attorneys with clear and precise objectives. Individuals should not expect their attorneys to create roles and develop outcomes that are not within the communicated boundaries.
The Benefits of an Estate Plan—And How an Estate Planning Lawyer Can Help
An estate plan involves assembling legal documentation surrounding an individual’s assets, long-term care plans, and other future plans. This planning can protect a person’s wealth and their loved ones’ best interests while ensuring that everything is properly cared for after their death.
An estate planning lawyer will manage all of this legal documentation and ensure it accounts for all necessary assets and care plans.
An estate planning attorney can help with the following elements of an estate plan:
- Power of attorney: Durable power of attorney grants an individual the authority to act on another’s behalf and decide on matters related to their livelihood.
- Trust planning: Adequate trust planning will ensure that beneficiaries receive assets without waiting through the probate process, which can be lengthy.
- Will and testament: Creating a will allows individuals to grant various actions and determine how, where, and who will access their wealth and assets.
- Living will: A living will allows individuals to express medical preferences if they become incapacitated.
- Healthcare proxy: A healthcare proxy grants a chosen individual the power to make health-related decisions on another’s behalf.
- HIPAA: HIPAA is a collection of federal laws surrounding the release of medical records. HIPAA authorization grants specified individuals access to another’s sensitive information after they pass.
These documents are only a few of the beginning essentials. Individuals can develop their Estate Plan over a lifetime and continue adding more information as complications arise.
Sheryll Law, P.C.: Find an Estate Planning Lawyer Near Me on the East End of Long Island
Most people have worked hard to generate lasting assets and wealth so they and their loved ones and community can flourish. At Sheryll Law, we want to help clients manage their estate planning meticulously and ensure that the documentation adequately protects all their assets.
Contact us at Sheryll Law P.C. today to find an estate planning attorney on the East End of Long Island. Schedule a consultation today by calling us at (631) 206-5893 in Riverhead, NY.
Copyright© 2022. Sheryll Law, P.C. All rights reserved.
The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information in this post should be construed as legal advice from the individual author or the law firm, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting based on any information included in or accessible through this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.
Sheryll Law, P.C.
633 East Main Street, Suite 2
Riverhead, New York 11901
(631) 206-5893
https://sheryll-law.com/
