In our last blog, we began talking about some of the advantages to hiring an experienced estate planning attorney. In that entry we wrote about how a lawyer will know the laws of the state in a way that can’t be matched by a website or a book offering you an “easy” way to write up a will or a trust as well. Today, we will cover how an estate planning attorney can help you protect your children and your elderly family members through carefully written wills and other methods of asset protection.
Contact us at Safe Harbor Wills and Trusts in Watertown today if you are facing an elder law emergency or if the time has come to draft a will or establish a trust in order to protect your assets.
Protect Your Children With A Properly Written Will
A will is a legal document that lays out exactly how your property and assets will be divided and distributed after your death as well as creating provisions for funeral arrangements. Apart from the distribution of your assets, one of the most important parts of your will is to specify who will raise your underage children if you should die. While we all hope to live long, healthy lives, we shouldn’t count on anything. It is always a good idea to make sure that your children will be taken care of in case of your accidental death or passing away after a fight with an illness. A will makes your wishes concrete and legal.
Having a will also allows you to divide your assets in order to provide for your children in whatever way you think is most appropriate. Creating a trust might be a good idea if you know that you may not be around when you are older or if you don’t want to leave a large sum of money to a child that you feel might not be able to use the money in a way that you think is responsible. A trust also keeps the assets that are part of the trust out of probate which means that your beneficiaries are able to access their inheritance more quickly than waiting for probate to conclude. A trust also doesn’t become a part of the public record like a will does, so if you value your privacy and the privacy of your beneficiaries, a trust might be a good idea.
Asset Protection
If you have elderly parents or you’re starting to plan for your own elder care, you’ll want to look into the best ways of protecting your assets. There are many ways to do this, so talking to an attorney who has years of asset protection experience is an important step to take. Here at Safe Harbor Wills and Trusts in Watertown, we know how vital it is to protect your assets from the government and creditors especially as you age and your ability to earn income to take care of problems diminishes. In order to protect your financial legacy from being eaten by medical bills and nursing facilities, you must take steps to protect your money before something bad happens. When you meet with us, we can discuss trusts that not only stop your savings from being used for care but also ways that a trust can be used to lower your income so that you can qualify for financial assistance so that your family isn’t responsible for footing expensive bills.
Contact us today to start protecting the assets that you want to leave to your loved ones. We have years of experience helping people navigate these sometimes challenging waters. At Safe Harbor Wills and Trusts, you will get the help you need with a trust or a will as well as any other form of asset protection.