Consider these compelling reasons to have a will in place today.
You probably know a Will declares who receives what part of your estate. You might not know that your Will can do so much more. If you have not yet created your Will as an adult, there are numerous reasons why making your Will can give you peace of mind. This essential estate planning document plans for every part of your future and the future of those closest to you. Explore the following reasons to have a Will, and contact the estate planning experts at The Millman Law Group to get started on your plan.
Name Guardians for Your Children
When creating a Will, you can select a guardian for your children. You must name your preferred guardian in the Will. Without one, the court chooses the guardian for your children if you were to die. That responsibility often goes to the closest living relative, regardless of your relationship with them.
Describe Funeral Plans
When you have a Will in place, you can use it to detail your funeral plans to family members. If you fail to leave instructions in your Will, this responsibility falls to your spouse or other family member and can be quite challenging. A Will allows you to explain the service you want and other essential details so your loved ones have some guidance.
Manage the Distribution of Your Belongings
Wills let you decide how your precious belongings will be managed after death. For example, if you own real estate, investments, heirlooms, or sentimental belongings, your Will lets you choose how they are distributed to your loved ones. You can work with your estate planning lawyer to determine how to distribute assets.
Reduce Time in Probate Court
Probate is the court-supervised process estates go through after the estate owner dies. If you have a Will, the court will validate the document and allow your personal representative to administer the estate. If you die without a Will, the court must step in to decide how assets are distributed. This can take months and often requires family members to make court appearances. You can prevent this extensive probate process by creating a Will and using other estate planning tools like Trusts to reduce the amount of court interference. For example, a Living Trust can be used to avoid probate. Visit this link to learn more about revocable Living Trusts from The Millman Law Group.
Provide Digital Information to Family Members
In our modern world, people must increasingly consider what to do about their digital assets after death. This includes access information for your laptops, email, social media accounts, and other digital accounts after your death. When you create your Will, you can decide how much, if any, of this information you want to share with a relative. This can help them close accounts, return work equipment, or preserve pictures or documents that have sentimental value.
Provide for Your Pets
If you want to know that your precious pets will be taken care of if something happens to you, you can do so when you have a Will. You can name a guardian for pets and leave money for their care to your person of choice in your Will.
Establish a Healthcare Directive
There may come a time when something happens, and you cannot make healthcare decisions for yourself. In those instances, it is essential to have instructions for your family on how to proceed. In your Will, you may include your wishes for end-of-life care and any other preferences for medical treatment. This can relieve your family from the burden of decisions and help you make your preferences known.
Protect Your Business
If you own a business, it’s important to you to preserve its success even after you’re gone. You can use your Will to pass down ownership of a business to your children, business associates, or another important person in your life. This can also help prevent future conflict and legal challenges that may arise if people contest your wishes for the business.
Estate Planning Made Easy With Millman Law Group
Millman Law Group, PLLC is rare because it’s one of the only law firms that offer life planning in South Florida. From life care planning to the preparation of detailed estate plans, Millman Law Group has committed to serving Floridian elderly communities in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Ocean Ridge, Hillsboro Beach, and many other areas since 2018. Our dedicated team also specializes in special needs Trusts and catering to any age demographic because we know for certain it’s never too early to start preparing you and your family for your future. For the latest news in estate planning and elder care law, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and Pinterest. You can also contact us at 561-463-6480.