Estate Lawyer O’Fallon MO  

If you would like to work on your estate plan with the help of legal counsel, speak with an estate lawyer in O’Fallon, MO from Legacy Law Center. When you look around at the life that you have built, what do you see? Children? A spouse? What about your material gains and wealth? Life is a compounding series of choices that eventually leads to an accumulation of assets. However, what happens when you can no longer care for or manage those assets? Do you have a plan in place?

An estate plan is a tool that people push off creating because they don’t like to think about the end of their life. While understandable, failing to plan means leaving the distribution of your assets to a court-appointed executor. Therefore, while you are still of sound mind and body, consider creating an estate plan and be sure to include the six items below. Your O’Fallon estate lawyer can help you. If you have any questions regarding deeds, please call our office to speak with a deeds lawyer O’Fallon, MO recommends.

6 Things Every Estate Plan Should Have

1. Durable Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney is a document that allows a trusted individual of your choosing to act on your behalf if you become incapacitated. This document allows a designated individual to make decisions regarding your assets and finances. If you are not sure who to pick, your estate lawyer in O’Fallon, MO can help.

2. Medical Proxy

In addition to a durable power of attorney, you will want to include a medical power of attorney or medical proxy. These individuals are legally in charge of making any medical decisions while you are incapacitated. However, they will typically have to abide by your written wishes.

3. Will

While wills are the standard and fundamental documents for an estate plan, you may also consider a trust. Each of these documents ensures that your assets are distributed according to your wishes, limiting the extent of interference by probate courts.

4. Letter of Intent

A letter of intent essentially defines how you would like an asset distributed. While not every state consider these documents legally binding, they do serve to inform beneficiaries, executors, and courts of your wishes.

5. Beneficiaries

It is crucial that any assets that can have named beneficiaries do. By naming beneficiaries, you help to reduce probate interference in the transference of assets, and you allow your loved ones to gain access to assets promptly.

6. Guardianship

While the primary purpose of an estate plan is to safeguard your assets, do not forget your most valuable asset, your family. If you have minor children, then any estate plan must designate guardianship. While it seems unlikely, many people forget this step of an estate plan, leaving their children in potential limbo if the worst happens.

Speak with an O’Fallon, Missouri Estate Lawyer Today! 

Estate plans are not as much about death as they are about protecting your life’s work. Contact an estate lawyer O’Fallon residents trust from Legacy Law Center to discuss how to protect your assets best.