When individuals pass away without a will, the intestacy laws in your state will dictate which heirs inherit from the deceased person’s estate. However, there can be significant reasons why certain people should not inherit assets directly.
Advanced planning with the help of a knowledgeable estate planning attorney is strongly recommended for any of the following situations:
- Â Â Â Â Â Children with special need and disabled spouses.
- Â Â Â Â Â Minors.
- Â Â Â Â Â Heirs with dependency issues.
- Â Â Â Â Â Heirs with creditors.
- Â Â Â Â Â Children with rocky marriages.
These individuals should not necessarily be written out of your estate plan altogether, but it should involve careful consideration of what is best for them. A properly drafted trust can be more appropriate based on your individual circumstances. A trust helps to permit the trustor to control any purse strings by setting forth particular criteria for the heirs to receive or inherit money.
Trusts can be included in a will as a contingency or may also be executed while the trustor is still alive. Consulting with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney as soon as possible and discussing your unique situation can help to illuminate the estate planning strategies most in line with your family.
Passing on assets directly can actually compromise the value of these assets or can make your beneficiary’s lives more difficult unnecessarily. Thankfully, consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney at the outset of your planning process can help to avoid these altogether.
