Marion Estate Planning Lawyer

Estate planning allows you to prepare for the future while you are sound and capable. You can name who will receive your assets and how your estate will be divided among your intended beneficiaries. This way, when the time comes, your plan will be executed just as you had envisioned, helping avoid costly court battles.

Beyond outlining your vision for your estate, an estate plan can also help you minimize assets lost to taxes and ensure your heirs receive the absolute most of your estate as possible. A well-written estate plan can help you pass assets while avoiding heavy taxes or fees imposed upon an estate. Looking for an experienced attorney? Contact our Marion estate planning law firm to schedule a consultation and discuss your case further. 

Estate planning lawyers, also called estate law attorneys or probate lawyers, are attorneys specializing in estate law and help clients create estate plans outlining their wishes in the distribution and management of their assets. They thoroughly understand estate administration and probate laws and other closely related branches of law that may impact your estate plan, such as Medicaid, estate tax, excise tax, and asset protection laws.

Your Marion estate planning attorney can also help you prepare your life insurance policy and retirement plan and set up your charitable contributions.

Let’s look at some of the things your estate planning lawyer in Marion, North Carolina can help you do. 

Creating a Solid, Hard-to-Contest Will

Most people think they don’t need an attorney to help them prepare their will. After all, they can easily find a will template online and fill in their details. However, while a will template may offer some guidance, it’s unlikely that it will fit your needs. People’s lives and assets differ widely and cannot fit into one standard template.

Therefore, you should engage a Marion estate planning lawyer to guide you through the process. It’s important to have a professional help you to ensure you get everything right. A watertight will is harder to contest, ensuring that your instructions are executed exactly as you wanted.

Moreover, your estate planning lawyer in Marion can help you designate your beneficiaries. When needed, you can rely on your attorney as an impartial third party for advice when dividing your assets among your beneficiaries and making charitable contributions.

Avoiding the Probate Court Process

Probate is a court-supervised proceeding during which an appointed executor is mandated with the responsibility of transferring a deceased’s estate to the named beneficiaries. However, this process is both lengthy and costly.

Luckily, a good estate plan can help avoid the complexities of probate. With your estate planning attorney’s help, you can designate all your assets correctly and avoid probate. Alternatively, if your beneficiaries have to open probate, your lawyers can help them with the process. 

Updating and Modifying Your Estate Plan

New developments in your life may require you to update your estate plan accordingly. These include a change in assets, divorce, marriage, the birth of a child, etc. Once you have adjusted to the new development, you can reach out to your estate planning lawyer to amend your estate plan.

Following State and Federal Laws

Probate laws are different in every state and are also constantly updated. Therefore, it’s wise to engage an estate planning attorney who understands all the new laws and how they may affect your estate plan. Our King Law’s Marion estate planning attorneys are up-to-date on the North Carolina probate statutes and can help you craft your estate plan in line with any new laws. 

Similarly, our Marion estate planning law firm can help you adjust your estate plan to fit North Carolina’s probate laws if you have just moved to Marion from a different state.

Everyone should have an estate plan. Many people falsely believe that one has to be wealthy or elderly to have an estate plan. However, you don’t need to have a lot of assets to think of creating an estate plan. Estate plans are not just about wills and Financial Power of Attorney (POA). Several other documents, such as Advance Healthcare Directive (AHCD), also referred to as a Living Will, make up your estate plan. 

A living will states what medical actions you’d want to be taken if you are incapacitated and unable to make your own choices. If that were to happen, your loved ones would know what your wishes are and execute them. 

There are also other unique situations where one would especially need professional help planning their estate. For example, when:

• You own property overseas.
• You want to name a beneficiary who is not an American citizen.
• You want to set up a charitable trust.
• You want to set up an irrevocable trust. Once created, an irrevocable trust is hard to close or change, so you should first talk to your Marion estate planning lawyer to determine if it’s the best option for your case. 
• You have a blended family. If you want to bequeath any assets to a half-sibling, stepchild, or stepparent, you have to have them named in your estate plan clearly; otherwise, they most likely wouldn’t get anything.

Depending on your assets and family situation, your estate plan may be simple or very complex. Having an estate planning attorney in Marion, North Carolina organize a proper plan is essential for ensuring everything gets sorted as you wish.