Estate plans can be beneficial to almost anyone, regardless of which stage of life you may be in. When you make plans ahead of time, you can find peace of mind knowing your wishes will still be followed in the future. Estate plans can help organize your finances and assets and even place people in control of your estate if you can’t make those decisions yourself. Contact an East Feliciana Parish estate planning lawyer today to start planning for your future.
At Goode Tax and Estate Planning Law Group, LLC, our team shares extensive experience in estate planning. This experience, in addition to our vast knowledge of the law, allows us to prepare estate plans for a variety of clients in varying stages of life. Our firm takes pride in helping residents of Louisiana create estate plans that help them feel comfortable and confident about their future.
Each person’s estate plan differs based on their unique situation. However, there are multiple elements that you’ll commonly see in almost every estate plan, including:
Your unique needs will determine which elements of an estate plan are right for your situation. If you’re considering creating an estate plan, it’s essential to do so with the help of an experienced estate planning lawyer in East Feliciana Parish who can guide you through the process.
Working with an attorney when forming an estate plan is beneficial in a variety of ways. Firstly, an attorney has legal knowledge of estate planning that can help them aid you in forming a plan that fits your exact needs.
Unfortunately, many people who attempt to create estate plans on their own end up leaving out important information or address certain topics improperly. When you retain an estate planning lawyer, they can ensure you address each of your needs adequately.
Additionally, when you hire an attorney, you can trust that the estate plan you create is legally valid. Another issue many people in Louisiana run into is forming wills that do not meet the legal requirements of the state.
If any aspect of your estate plan does not meet the legal requirements, the court will not allow it to be followed upon your passing. It’s crucial that you work with a trusted estate planning lawyer who can help you with all related matters and form a plan that’s legally valid and fit for you.
It might be possible to avoid probate litigation in Louisiana in certain circumstances. Some estates can avoid probate if they are under a certain value, which classifies them as small estates. Other strategies include adding beneficiaries and other people to asset accounts so that they can be easily transferred to someone else upon your death. Even if you cannot avoid probate, you use methods such as forming trusts to reduce the amount of assets that go through probate.
Most estates must go through succession, regardless of whether someone has a will. If there is a will, the succession is considered testate, and the late individual who created the will is considered the testator. In these cases, assets are divided according to the testator’s wishes. If an individual did not create a will before their death, their estate would be distributed according to local intestate succession laws.
There are some exceptions. Certain assets are not subject to what is written in a will and are instead distributed to an established beneficiary. This is especially true with things like retirement accounts. Even if a testator gave the majority of their estate to one person or group of people, if the beneficiary of certain accounts is different from the recipient of the will, then the people mentioned in the will might not receive the assets.
Inheritance taxes are taxes on assets that individuals receive from a will. Louisiana does not have an inheritance tax, but they do have an estate tax. The federal government also does not tax those who inherit assets from an estate. The taxes on an estate are normally paid by the estate itself and are managed through the probate process. To make sure you are filing your estate taxes correctly, it is a good idea to contact an estate planning and tax attorney.
To ensure your wishes are followed after you can no longer voice them, it’s essential that you create an estate plan in Louisiana. Preparing these documents ahead of time is a great way to protect your future. Schedule a consultation with Goode Tax and Estate Planning Law Group, LLC, today to learn more about how an estate plan can help yourself and your loved ones.