If you’ve given any thought to estate planning, then your first thought may be with regard to how best to ensure that your immediate loved ones such as your spouse and your children can be financially protected upon your passing. For most individuals, this means drafting a simple will to ensure that assets can be passed down without having to go through the long, drawn-out, and sometimes costly probate process.
However, estate planning can be about so much more than simply leaving assets to your immediate loved ones. In fact, when done correctly, an estate plan can create a legacy that can provide financial stability to your family for decades to come. One of the keys to this type of planning is identifying legacy assets and how best to protect them. It’s also important to ensure that a legacy estate is protected from estate taxes, which, considering the large exemption provided by the federal government, can be significant when imposed.
It is also of critical importance to revisit an estate plan periodically. This is especially true when new property is acquired or when there are marriages in the family. By working with a team of professionals whose goal is to help create a legacy, you can make sure that your estate is as fully protected as possible for the long-term, meaning that assets are set up in a way to distribute in accordance with your wishes upon death.
One member of this legacy team is an estate planning attorney. Those who are highly skilled and experienced, like those at our firm, know how to create the legal vehicles necessary to provide legacy protection to important assets like businesses, real estate and large accounts and funds. Therefore, if you are considering initiating the estate planning process, or you want to make sure that your existing plan is adequate to meet your needs, consider reaching out to an estate planning attorney who has shown himself or herself to be successful in this area of the law.