Most people in Palmhurst have preferences about what should be done with their property after they die. This is why the process of estate planning exists - it permits people to make a broad range of decisions related to this issue.

If you want to start the process of planning your estate, you've made a good choice, especially if you care about what happens to your survivors after you're gone. You should be careful, however, and make sure you have the help of a legal and financial expert every step of the way. This will likely prove quite helpful in the long run, avoiding a lot of problems in the future.

In the process of estate planning, you'll probably also deal with issues that can affect you during life. These include issues like power of attorney (to ensure that your wishes are carried out even if you're unable to express them), as well as instructions to your doctors and family concerning medical care. A knowledgeable estate planner can also help you achieve your goals, while minimizing the effects of expenses like court fees and taxes.

A knowledgeable estate planner in Palmhurst, 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 Palmhurst Estates

Will: This is a legal document which transfers ownership of the testator's (the person making the will) property to named beneficiaries after the testator's death. The beneficiaries can be just about anyone the testator chooses, but smaller estates, usually only include family members, and maybe very close friends. If you want, you can place conditions on gifts (say, leaving a certain amount of money to your son, but only if he graduates college before he turns 25 - this is just an example). However, a will can't actually compel anyone to do anything, and some conditional gifts won't be enforced, normally because they involve an illegal act, or require a person to marry or refrain from marrying a particular person.

Living Will: Living wills are also very important for most people. Basically, a living will tells everyone concerned (your next of kin, and your doctor) what type of medical care you want if you become incapacitated. It normally includes the circumstances under which a person wishes to be kept on life support, when they want to be taken off of life support, and, sometimes, instructions on when medical staff should and should not attempt resuscitation.

Power of Attorney: Power of attorney is the authority to make binding decisions for another person, when that person becomes unable to make or express their own decisions. You can grant power of attorney to anyone you want, but, for obvious reasons, you should only grant it to somebody you trust, and discuss your exact wishes with them, in case they actually have to make a decision for you.

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 Palmhurst Estates Lawyer?

A flawed estate plan in Palmhurst can result in those affected by it being confused as to your intent, which can then lead to disputes between them. A knowledgeable attorney can frequently avoid this confusion by ensuring that there is as little ambiguity as possible in your will and other related documents.