3 Reasons To Meet With An Attorney About Your Estate

Taking care of your estate is an important part of emergency preparedness for every family. Even though you can do some estate planning on your own, you should hire an estate-planning attorney to help you with the process. Here are some things that you need to know about using an estate-planning attorney to help you organize your assets.

1. An Attorney Can Help You Keep Your Assets and Estate Off Public Record

The way you organize your estate is very important for how it will be put on record. If you put everything in a will, then it will go on public record because all wills must go through a process called probate. This is when the court oversees the division of your estate. Thus, if you just write on a piece of paper that you want all of your assets to go to your family, it is considered a will, and it will be put on public record.

Instead, when you meet with an estate-planning attorney, they can help you set up a trust. A trust is ideal because it is more private. A trust doesn't have to go through probate, which means that only your family, or beneficiaries, and the lawyer who executes the trust will know about the details within the estate plan. Setting up a trust is one of the best things you can do for your estate and for your family's privacy.

2. An Attorney Can Help You Protect Your Assets

Another important part of estate planning is making sure that your assets are protected. When you die, you don't want your assets overtaxed. In addition, if you have creditors or get sued for something, you need to make sure that your assets are protected so that your family gets your hard-earned money.

When you meet with a lawyer, they can help you to organize your assets so that they are safe from lawsuits and other problems. You might put them into LLCs, special trusts, or other accounts that will keep them safe. An attorney can help you know how to protect yourself and your assets.

3. An Attorney Can Help The Right Person Get Power Of Attorney

Power of attorney is incredibly important to your estate plan. If for some reason you are unable to speak for yourself, you need to have someone appointed to take care of your medical, legal, and financial decisions. This will happen when you meet with an attorney.

These are just a couple reasons to meet with an attorney about your estate plan.  

For estate planning, contact a law firm such as Cormac McEnery.