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Estate Planning

Tips for Managing Your Important Records

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Creating an estate plan is one of the most important things you can do for your loved ones. However, it is still essential that you keep your supporting records organized. This will make it easier for your family to handle your affairs when you die. Below are a few suggestions for organizing your records:

  • Establish a storage system. Go through your paperwork and get rid of any unnecessary documents. Sort the important records and create a filing system that keeps them organized.
  • Protect important records. It is important to safeguard your original documents that cannot be replaced in a fire-proof safe or a safety deposit box. We strongly urge clients to use safety deposit boxes. Unless you have a very expensive “in wall” safe, set in concrete, it is unlikely the safe will really stand up to a home fire. Examples of documents you should store safely include your estate planning documents, passports, insurance policies, deeds to real property, titles to vehicles, birth/marriage certificates, and other similar records.
  • Separate tax materials. If you maintain a separate file for the documents you will need for your tax filings, it will make the process much simpler when tax time comes.
  • Confer with professionals. You should let your attorney and financial advisors keep a copy of all of your essential records.
  • Consider online back-up. You may wish to scan and store your records online. There are a variety of websites that provide these services or you can upload your documents to a password-protected hard drive.

The above steps may seem a bit overwhelming to you, but once you establish a document system for your records, it will be easy to maintain. If your home should catch fire or be destroyed in a storm, you will feel relief knowing that your important records are protected.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Using Common Sense in Your Estate Planning

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When you think about estate planning, you probably envision it being a very complex process. While it can involve complicated issues, estate planning should also encompass a significant amount of common sense. For one, take time to really think about what you want to accomplish with your estate plan. You take time to plan your daily tasks and figure out ways to make life easier, so apply these same principles to your estate plan:

  • Stop procrastinating. If you wait until you are under a deadline (or until it is too late), it makes the process more expensive as well as more stressful. The more you can pre-plan your estate plan, the more likely you will have success in meeting your goals. In fact, there are certain areas of estate planning (such as Medicaid, retirement and long term care) that you should start thinking about years before you believe you’ll actually need it.
  • Get organized. You have probably learned that making a list of what you need before you go to the store makes your shopping trip easier and quicker. The same principle applies to estate planning because the more forethought you put into setting your goals, the easier it is for your lawyer to efficiently achieve those goals.
  • Understand it is an investment. Don’t be tempted to use the cheapest attorney you can find without investigating his or her experience and reputation in the area of estate planning. Your estate plan is an investment for the future, so you want to ensure that your plan will stand the test of time.
  • How do you know whether you have found someone with experience and ability? Try this test: (i) ask how many will or trust clients they met with in the last week and month; (ii) ask whether they understand probate and tax laws; and (iii) go online and see what areas of law they practice. If their online presence includes personal injury, divorce, DUI, criminal defense, bankruptcy, etc. they are not a specialist in estate planning.
  • You may not make everyone happy. It is important to realize that your estate plan may not please all of your heirs. However, it is your property, assets and wealth that is being distributed, so you should do what you want in creating your estate plan.

If you do not have an estate plan or you have one that is outdated, let us help. The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

3 Tips for Lowering Your Estate Planning Legal Fees

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There numerous areas in your life where you can save money by “doing it yourself.” However, estate planning is one area where DIY can cost you more than you might expect. Each state has very specific laws that apply and the process can be quite complex. Our experience with DIY wills or trusts has been uniformly bad. They may be good forms fundamentally, but the lack of understanding of terminology and lack of experience with the forms or estate planning concepts generally, often results in a bad document.

Most people fear that creating an estate plan will be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Keep in mind that “expensive” is a relative concept. If you have hundreds of thousands or even millions in assets, spending a few thousand dollars to make sure the assets transfer according to your wishes is a very modest cost. You can also create your plan in steps and following these three tips may help to lower your legal fees:

  • Get organized. Before you attend your initial consultation with your estate planning lawyer, get your documents and records organized. This includes creating a comprehensive list of all of your assets and all of your liabilities and debts. You will want to decide who your beneficiaries will be as well as who you want to appoint as your personal representative or trustee. If you have minor children, you should decide who you will want to appoint as the guardian of your minor children if you should become incapacitated or die. Finally, consider who you will appoint to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to do so for yourself. Don’t be surprised when your experienced estate planning attorney gives you guidance that causes you to change your mind as you formulate your plan. That is the benefit of using someone who understands this area of law. They can see things you don’t.
  • Keep it straightforward. If you can keep your estate plan simple, it can save a lot of money. Also, the more complex your estate plan is, the more expensive it will likely be to maintain as time passes.
  • Maintenance. It is important to review your estate plan each year and to make any necessary changes as you discover them while they are minimal and not as expensive. If you wait several years before reviewing your estate plan, making the necessary updates could be more costly.

Having a comprehensive estate plan can save you and your family money in a variety of ways. We can help you avoid costly estate taxes and create asset protection strategies. To learn more about how we can assist you, schedule your initial consultation.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.