Virtually every person has an estate. Your estate includes anything you own, whether that be a home, vehicles, banking accounts, life insurance policy, personal treasures, or something else. Regardless of how little or large your estate is, each person should consider creating an estate plan for the future. An estate planning lawyer Abingdon, VA trusts can provide insight into how to begin with your estate plan. The basic essence of estate planning is to create arrangements for who shall receives your assets after passing away. This is a great way for people to feel more at ease about how their things will be distributed to loved ones after departing from this world.

Benefits of an Estate Plan

Those who do not create an estate plan before passing away, are likely to have their estate be handled by the court based on state laws. This can be stressful for family members, especially if your estate was not distributed according to how they know you would have preferred. An attorney will likely tell you that your estate plan is so much more than simply designating who gets what belongings after your death. Other benefits to an estate plan can include:

• Instructions on your preference of care in the event you become disabled or incapacitated.
• Name a guardian to take care of children if they are of minor age at the time of passing.  
• Ability to provide for loved ones with special needs without interrupting government benefits.
• Life insurance to provide for your surviving family after passing away.
• Minimizes the costs for court, taxes and other legal fees.
• As a way to continue enforcing your wishes, as estate plans should be updated regularly throughout a lifetime.

Peace of Mind

By creating an estate plan, many people may then feel immense relief that preparations are in now officially in place. An attorney can help you and your loved ones obtain a peace of mind when it comes to the future of an estate. Sometimes, the surviving family members have to go through very prolonged and costly court proceedings if an estate plan was not written by the deceased. Perhaps one of the most kind things someone can do, is to create a plan which can help prevent family members from having to deal with additional legalities on top of their grief.

Facing Your Own Mortality

One of the most challenging things a person may face when writing their estate plan, is coming to terms with their own mortality. It can be very emotional to think about a time when you are no longer here alongside loved ones. The fear of facing one’s mortality can cause some to procrastinate on getting such a crucial document complete.

Thank you to our friends and contributors at The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt for their insight into estate planning.