College Park Estate Planning

Find the right Wills & Trusts attorney in College Park, MD

In College Park, "estate planning" refers to all of the decisions affecting how a person's property is going to be disposed of after their death, as well as the process of implementing those decisions when the time comes.

The problems that estate planning raises are sometimes very perplexing. Without competent legal and financial advice, many problems can pop up, which can easily throw your entire plan into disarray, and cost your survivors a great deal of time, energy, and money.

While planning your estate, there are a few prevalent issues that most people should consider. One big one is the decision relating to power of attorney, which is an arrangement where you give one person the power to make legally-binding decisions on your behalf. You can set up an agreement telling your representative precisely what power they have, what you want them to do, and when the power will vest (typically, if and when you become unable to make your own decisions).

A knowledgeable estate planner in College Park, can make this process much easier, minimizing the chances that your estate plan will end up in court, saving your survivors a huge amount of time and money.

Common Features of College Park Estates

Will: This is the centerpiece of most estate plans. A will is a document written by a person (the "testator"), typically with the help of a lawyer, which says what is to be done with their property after they die. Most provisions in a will are legally binding, to the extent that ownership of the property legally passes to the named beneficiary. However, a will cannot compel a person to do anything against their wishes (though it can certainly state your preferences on the matter, phrasing them as requests).

Living Will: This is a document which articulates your wishes concerning your medical care, to give instructions to your family and doctors in the event that you become incapacitated. While directly consulting it will hopefully never be necessary, one never knows - unexpected illnesses and injuries can happen to anyone, at any time. While making a living will might require a person to acknowledge the existence of some unpleasant possibilities, it can end up saving their loved ones a great deal of grief and uncertainty.

Power of Attorney: What if you become incapacitated, and can't make your own decisions? It would be nice if somebody knew what you would want in a given situation, and, on top of that, had the legal authority to make that decision for you. Power of attorney lets you do precisely that, granting a person of your choice the ability to make certain decisions for you, in case you, for whatever reason, can't (you can, of course, control the scope of power that you grant).

Funeral Arrangements: You should make it very clear to the people handling your funeral what type of funeral you want, and what you want done with your body. You should not put these instructions in your will, because wills are frequently not read until days or weeks after the testator dies, by which point it may be too late to give their wishes on this subject effect.

Do I Need a College Park Estates Lawyer?

A poorly drafted or executed College Park estate plan can have major negative consequences. For example, it might be confusing to the people who are most directly affected by it. This confusion can frequently lead to costly litigation. For that reason, the help of an efficient estate planning attorney can be invaluable.

Talk to a Wills, Trusts & Estates Law Attorney now!

Life in College Park

College Park, Maryland is a community of about 25,000 people, situated in Prince George's County. It is just outside Washington, D.C.

College Park is home to the University of Maryland, a public research university, and the flagship of Maryland's public university system. University of Maryland, College Park is very well-regarded across the country, and some rankings even put it in the top 50 universities in the world.

Given its size, and the presence of a major university attracting students from all over the nation, College Park, Maryland is definitely a classic "college town." As with any college town, there is sometimes conflict between students and long-time residents of the town. However, it is rarely serious, and typically does not escalate beyond noise complaints and other minor nuisances.

Occasionally, however, the student community attempts to get one of its own elected to the city council, since anybody who resides in College Park and is over 21 is eligible to run. None of these bids have been successful, however.

College towns tend to have slightly more lawyers than other communities of comparable size. This means that there are probably College Park, Maryland lawyers who can handle just about any type of legal issue that you're likely to face in your lifetime. If you have a legal issue, it's very like that there's a College Park, Maryland lawyer who can help.

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