Getting Down to the Basics of Estate Planning…

In General
By definition, an estate plan is an arrangement for your assets and debts upon your incapacity and death. The law has a default estate plan for us all called Intestacy. This default arrangement is often more costly than the plan you would make and it will never take into account your personal preferences. In fact, in North Carolina, most of the decisions will be made by the Clerk of Superior Court or one of her agents using the law of Intestacy as well as any relevant local rules. Although the Clerk will do her best to oversee the administration of your estate – along with the other thousands of estates for which she is responsible – this procedure will most often not reflect the choices you would have made for yourself had you used the opportunity you had during your life and good health to put your own preferences in writing.

If you create an estate plan before you die or become incapacitated, it will take into account at minimum your ABCs. That is, your Assets, Bills, and Children. And a complete estate plan will also cover your health care during your life. If you take the time to prepare an estate plan, before you pass away, it will always more preferable and less expensive than the alternative default arrangement the law has in place for you. These estate planning basics will help guide you through the beginning stages of the process and hopefully help set your mind at ease.

The typical tools used by an estate planning attorney are: Wills, Financial Powers of Attorney, Health Care Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, and Trusts.

Wills
We have all heard of Wills. A Will is a legal instrument allowing a person (the “testator”) to safeguard his right to control how his estate will be administered, within the bounds of the law, after his death. A Will is a formal writing in which you describe your assets (your “estate”), the people you choose to receive property you specify (the “legatees” and “devisees” or collectively “beneficiaries”), the person you choose to handle your estate (the “Executor” or “Executrix), and they allow parents to nominate a guardian to continue the raising and care of minor children. A Will is only effective at the point of your death. Until then, it can be modified or revoked by you during your life as long as your mental faculties have not been impaired. Upon your death, your Will must be submitted for probate.

Because of their importance, there are many requirements North Carolina places on the fitness of your Will for probate. Wills must be carefully drafted, executed, and maintained so as to meet the probate requirements of North Carolina law. The circumstances surrounding the drafting of your Will must be free of evidence which negates a finding that your “free will” dictated its drafting. Factors such as the Undue Influence of others, Fraud, Duress, Mistake, or Incapacity can be the basis of a Will Contest. If your Will fails to meet the probate requirements of North Carolina, it will be set aside as a non-will document and the Clerk will determine that you died Intestate.

Financial Powers of Attorney
In it simplest form, a Power of Attorney is a document you would sign in which you give another person the legal authority to represent you and act on your behalf. A Financial Power of Attorney is necessary in those circumstances in which a third party such as a bank, mortgage company, insurance company, etc. requires written proof of legal authority before they will even talk to your representative or Attorney in Fact. Powers of Attorney are only effective until the moment of death.

The secret to having an effective estate plan is to have it all drafted up and ready BEFORE you need it. As much as I hate it, sometimes I have to turn away people who seek my services for their relatives who may already have some sort of cognitive impairment. It is usually, the child, spouse, sibling, or friend of the person who needs the document who is then seeking my services as an attorney. Unfortunately, most of the time, it is already too late for this. Their relative’s dementia, Alzheimer’s, or mental illness precludes their having the legal capacity to sign these documents as required by law. And no attorney will touch this engagement. This is a tragedy.

Most of the time this only hurts the caregiver. They may be in a situation where they have been paying all of the bills for their sick relative and are now at the point where they need their relative to chip in for some of the expense for their care and food and housing. But the caregiver does not have the authority to access the sick relative’s funds. Unfortunately, if the caregiver is coming to me, I know: 1) there is no power of attorney in place, 2) their relative is either too sick or often too stubborn to sign any legal documents, and 3) the situation is getting desperate and complicated. At this point, there is nothing in the planning stage I can do and the only legal option I can recommend is a guardianship.

Guardianships
Guardianships are another default arrangement provided under the laws of North Carolina for those who do not plan their estates properly. The Guardianship process is an expensive court process in which a person is subjected to extensive intrusion into their privacy, hygiene habits, medical condition, home life situation, etc. It is something to avoid at all costs, if possible. In North Carolina, because of their complexity and demanding requirements, many attorneys would not consider undertaking the Guardianship process with less than a $3,000 retainer fee – just to get started. By contrast, a Durable Financial Power of Attorney costs nearly one-tenth of this amount.

Guardianships are an on-going court supervised procedure. After a hearing where witnesses give their testimony about you, the court will make a determination and appoint someone she has selected to be in charge of your healthcare matters. This person will be the Guardian of the Person. If you do not have a pre-existing Durable Power of Attorney, you will have missed the opportunity to have a say in who the court may appoint in this very personal capacity. The court will have to just exercise her best judgment and pick someone.

The court will also appoint an attorney to be the Guardian of the Estate. This attorney will charge the incompetent person an hourly fee to handle his financial affairs. This includes an annual accounting. Attorneys charge anywhere from $200.00 to $400.00 per hour for these services. Thus, the sick person’s estate is severely diminished by, not only the expected costs for their care, but also by on-going court and attorney fees that could last until the death of the incompetent.

Back to Financial Powers of Attorney, these documents have many different variations which may or may not be appropriate for your circumstance: There are general, specific, special, limited, durable, shifting, and springing Financial Powers of Attorney. Some have to be recorded with the Register of Deeds to be effective, others do not. Just be careful in the version you and your attorney ultimately select.

Health Care Power of Attorney
A health care power of attorney allows you to name a person you trust to be your health care agent to see that doctors and other health care providers give you the type of care you would wish to receive if you could speak for yourself. For example, your health care Attorney in Fact would be consulted about your care regarding something like whether you would want a transfusion, a limb amputated to improve your changes of survival, etc., they would also share your medical issues with emergency room or surgical personnel.

In these documents you are essentially asking a trained medical professional to consider the opinion of your agent in your treatment who may not be a medical professional but a relative or friend. Because this has been the subject of litigation, North Carolina has enacted certain laws for more uniformity in this type of Power of Attorney. There is now a way to register them with the Secretary of State.

Living Wills
Living Wills are similar to Health Care Powers of Attorney but they govern your End of Life matters. Whether you would want to be artificially kept alive, to withdraw or not withdraw food or treatment. This document is helpful should you have an illness or injury from which a doctor believes you would not recover. This document, unlike the health care power of attorney, allows you to speak for yourself.

Trusts
Trusts are the estate planning vehicle which allows a person to accomplish the most. They allow you to minimize taxes and estate fees (which can be exorbitant), they streamline and speed up the administration process, and they take your personal business out of the public realm. Trusts are effective and govern your affairs during and after your life.

A trust is a legal arrangement in which one person gives to another person – called a fiduciary – the responsibility of following instructions that benefit a third party – called a beneficiary. There are an infinite variety of trusts but the most common is the Living Trust or the Revocable Trust. With a trust you can avoid probate, you can dispose of your assets as you wish, you can arrange for your family members to receive a certain amount of money every month or every year, and you can make provision for your health care. These documents are very helpful and allow you to create a lasting legacy.

And the beauty of trust planning is that you don’t have to have this money sitting in the bank. Your trusts can be funded with your life insurance policy as long as you take appropriate steps before you pass away.

There are many types of trusts. The most commonly used are: Revocable, Irrevocable, Testamentary, Inter Vivos, Living Trusts, Family Trusts, Charitable, Grantor Retained, Insurance Trusts (or ILITs), Real Estate Trusts, and Special Needs Trusts. Each trust has its own particular purpose and can be skillfully drafted to meet a number of needs and goals.

Parents are particular fans of Trusts due to the control a Trust allows the parent to retain as to when their child receives money. Without a Trust, a child who is the beneficiary of their deceased parent’s life insurance policy, would receive a windfall of cash upon his 18th birthday. This can be rather destructive for the child. A trust allows a Testator to place conditions on receipt of money. This way a parent can sort of “be there” for their children, even after they have passed away. Because of their desire for “continued parenting” after death, one type of trust which is creating some excitement for parents who prepare is The Incentive Trust (see further discussion herein). Well there you have it, my guide to the help you with basics of estate planning. The next step is to start putting together a checklist and download my initial PDF questionnaire available in the sidebar on the top of the page.

Estate planning is important for everyone but especially important for those of us who already have combustible issues in their lives. If we fail to plan when we have unsettled problems, then when we die we are guaranteeing family conflicts and expensive legal battles will flame up.

Often, we know the source of potential drama. But sometimes we are not aware that certain aspects of our financial situations and relationship dynamics are breeding grounds for these conflicts. I call them HotPoints.

HotPoints are unresolved situations in our lives now that might cause problems later. I have included a few of these HotPoints here so you can see how they can help you detect problems which might arise later.

For instance:

HOT ESTATES: You will need to do some estate planning if…

1. You have been married more than once.

2. Your spouse has been married previously.

3. You have children from a previous marriage or relationship.

4. Your spouse has children from a previous marriage.

5. You have children from more than one relationship.

6. There is a possibility that an unresolved paternity claim exists for you or your spouse.

7. You have an estrangement or alienation from your spouse, child, or parent.

8. Your spouse has an estrangement or alienation from their child or parent.

9. Your spouse does not get along with a child or parent of yours.

10. There are any hard feelings, misunderstandings, jealousies, resentments, or unresolved conflicts between your close family members.

11. You are the primary caretaker or breadwinner for your family.

12. You don’t have any life insurance.

13. You are single.

14. You are unmarried and cohabitate with someone you share assets or children with.

15. You are gay and/or living an alternative lifestyle.

16. You own a business.

17. A family member has fallen prey to creditors, relatives or others with pecuniary or controlling agendas, scam artists, etc.

18. You have any family members who are known to stir up trouble, who are busy bodies, or who always feel like they are being treated unfairly.

19. Any of your beneficiaries or family members are difficult, angry, combative, litigious, suspicious, controlling, naïve, immature, or unintelligent people.

20. You have a child who is a minor or who is over 18 but still needs some parental guidance.

21. You are currently involved in litigation or could be sued in the future.

22. You have or your family has a history of health issues which compromise one’s ability to handle business or personal affairs.

23. You have a secret or aspects of your private life you wish to remain private or controlled.

24. There are any oral understandings about your estate or care that you have with family members but that are unwritten and which you assume will be followed.

25. Your family has real estate that has been passed down from generation to generation without a will or proper probates. Often this is called Heir Property and results in the loss of the land.

26. You have made major changes to your estate or beneficiary designations that your family is unaware of.

27. You have valuable assets in your estate that would be difficult to divide amongst your beneficiaries.

28. Any member of your family will be significantly hurt, disappointed, resentful, or offended by the share of your estate you leave them.

29. You do not actually have sufficient assets to carry out the plan for your estate.

30. You have tried to create a will or an estate plan by yourself.

31. The person you would like to manage your affairs has credit or legal issues.

32. The beneficiary of your life insurance is your estate.

33. The beneficiary of your life insurance is one person but you actually intend them to use the funds for a different person (often your child).

This law firm services all of North Carolina particularly the Counties of Mecklenburg (Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Ballantyne, Lake Norman, South Park Area), Union (Monroe, Indian Trail, Weddington), Cabarrus (Concord, Kannapolis), Gaston (Gastonia, Mount Holly), Iredell (Statesville, Mooresville), and Cleveland (Shelby, Kings Mountain).

Same-sex couples face extraordinary challenges in estate planning. This Law Office welcomes people from all walks of life and those with alternative lifestyles. We will prepare you and your estate plan for the particular issues which may present themselves upon the incapacity – be it temporary or permanent – and upon the death of you or your domestic partner. In many ways, estate planning for gay and lesbian domestic partners is more critical than it is for legally married couples. Some issues commonly faced by domestic partners are:

a. Hospital visitation of partner-patient
b. Decision making in health care settings
c. Hostility from family towards lifestyle
d. Hostility from family towards your partner
e. Ability to handle financial matters of partner
f. Clarity of ownership of real estate
g. Clarity of ownership of bank and investment accounts
h. Clarity of ownership of personal and/or household items
i. Inclusion in decision making of Funeral and Burial arrangements
j. Updating your estate plan for changes in your personal situation and life events
k. HIPPA authorization for access to medical records
l. Common caveat challenges of wills in probate (e.g., undue influence, mental competency)
m. Guardianship of domestic partner in incompetency proceedings
n. Provision for children in will
o. Pros and cons of joint ownership of real estate and other property
p. Advice on registering your Health Care Power of Attorney
q. Communicating one’s wishes to family and medical professionals

Sometimes domestic partners may be shut out of the decision making process you may have preferred he or she be in regarding your care. Or your partner may be deprived of his or her rights of ownership of property you two may have co-owned. The goal of this Law Office for your estate plan is a crisp, clear, comprehensive arrangement that anticipates the lack of support or even hostility your surviving partner may face from family, the law, and medical staff at the point of your illness, incapacity, and death. We will work together to achieve this security for you and your partner.

This law firm services all of North Carolina particularly the Counties of Mecklenburg (Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Ballantyne, Lake Norman, South Park Area), Union (Monroe, Indian Trail, Weddington), Cabarrus (Concord, Kannapolis), Gaston (Gastonia, Mount Holly), Iredell (Statesville, Mooresville), and Cleveland (Shelby, Kings Mountain).

SMART ESTATE PLANNING TO ELIMINATE STRESS

We all worry about the future. Because we can’t predict or control it. The best thing we can do is get ready for it. Drafting your will is a great way to eliminate unnecessary stress about the unknown. By putting in writing what our plans and wishes are, we reduce worry for ourselves and our families about the future.

Think about it, we are stressed out about the people and things in our lives that are important to us. We want to make sure our family is taken care of. That usually means providing shelter, food, education, and medical care for them. But we all know that we need to take care of them in other ways too.

The ultimate care you can take of your family is providing for them in your estate plan. Every one has an estate no matter how big or how small. When you take the time to have a will made, you are putting things in writing, organizing, clarifying things, and planning – these are all stress busters. We never know what’s going to happen or when – but what we can do is prepare for the unknown and what we can control. Recall the Serenity Prayer in which we ask for the courage to change the things we can change.

Planning Will Reduce Our Stress
Often what prevents us from doing what we need to do and getting a will put in place is the consideration of our own deaths and mortality. It is been said that what we fear the most, and worry about the longest, has already happened to us. That is, the worst part of putting off something important (like drafting our wills) is often the constant worrying about it and the guilt we feel from procrastinating – not the event itself. Getting a will drafted can be quick and easy.

Yes, planning an estate is pain-free! Generally, the procedure is as follows: you begin by filling out a simple questionnaire for an attorney, she will then ask you a few questions, and you will meet with her once or twice to review your documents. And then it is done. You leave with a sense of accomplishment that you have done the ultimate good thing for your family. You can rest assured that you have provided for your family and can take a deep breath and exhale. A weight will have been lifted from your shoulders you might not have known was even there. You can go on living your life knowing that you have eliminated a huge unknown and that you have a plan in place for your future.

Planning Reduces Stress for Our Family
But not only do you reduce stress for yourself, you are also reducing stress for your family in one of the most stressful times they will face. These are people you love and care about. People who have lovingly taken care of you. People you raised or who helped raise you. People you don’t want bad things to happen to. By planning things out for yourself before hand, you are helping your family members reduce the stress that they are already going to have during the time of your illness and at your passing.

You are leaving crystal clear, legally enforceable instructions to them about who is going to be in charge of disposing of your assets (this is called an executor) and who will be receiving exactly what from your assets (this is called inheritance). When you give people directions they can follow, you are eliminating stress for them too. These instructions are especially important to people who have been married more than once, have children from different relationships, who have family members who do not get along, who are single, or who have children under 18 years old.

Planning Ahead Saves Money
Another aspect of stress avoidance with estate planning is preparing for the possibility that you may not just die but at some point be injured or suffer from some form of incapacity. Without planning, this may leave you helpless and at the mercy of people and institutions that don’t know you or what you would want.

This is stressful for two reasons: First, failure to put someone in charge of your health care creates the most financially devastating penalty for improper estate planning there is. It’s expensive because, when we don’t take the time to create for ourselves the proper documents that tell the world who speaks for us during this time, the court has to hold hearings, appoint lawyers who can charge up to $400.00 dollars an hour, have experts testify, appoint guardians who may not know what they are doing, and publicly review every private aspect of your medical care and hygiene.

Who pays for all of this? YOU! And at that point there is nothing you can do about it. This is stressful! It ultimately takes away from the money you worked so hard to accumulate during your life which you wanted to leave to your family. Sometimes instead of an inheritance you are leaving behind bills! And this is exactly what people will talk about and shake their heads about when you are gone. No one wants this to be their permanent legacy.

Planning Ahead Keeps Us from Being a Burden to our Family
Another reason health care planning as a part of estate planning is important is that without it you and your family are distracted by the legal process and can’t just focus on your health care and getting you better and healthier.

Conclusion
So, in conclusion, the best thing you can do to avoid all of these stressors is simply to call us. We will not bite – and want to help you create peace in your life with our expertise. The process is short and the cost is well worth avoiding all of the unnecessary strife, interfamily litigation, confusion about your wishes, public exposure of your privacy, and avoidable expense that come when we don’t plan for our future.

This law firm services all of North Carolina particularly the Counties of Mecklenburg (Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Ballantyne, Lake Norman, South Park Area), Union (Monroe, Indian Trail, Weddington), Cabarrus (Concord, Kannapolis), Gaston (Gastonia, Mount Holly), Iredell (Statesville, Mooresville), and Cleveland (Shelby, Kings Mountain).

One variation of trusts which is creating a lot of excitement with parents is called The Incentive Trust.

Traditionally, a trust would, at most, specify the age at which a beneficiary would receive money. However, often the unintended result would be, in the absence of your guidance, the creation of brats or unproductive adults. In general, parents do not want this. Parents generally want their kids to be successful, educated, happy, and well adjusted. Parents do not want their kids to lack motivation, ambition, or fall prey to bad habits. Even after they are gone.

Although it is not as bad as leaving your children nothing, giving young kids too much money all at once could actually create a DISINCENTIVE to work, budget, have goals, and mature. Further, without a trust in place your child would receive all of the money from you and your life insurance at one time. And if they are minors at the time of your death, they would receive this money at the ripe old age of 18. This single payment would be quickly, if not unwisely, spent and would be the last influence they would have from you for the rest of their long lives – no matter what happens to them down the road.

This is why Incentive Trusts are becoming increasingly popular. They are designed to do what you would do if you were still here: encourage your child to continue reaching goals as well as discourage your child from engaging in bad or illegal behavior. How it works is that upon the happening of certain specified events or accomplishments, a distribution from the trust is triggered. It allows a parent to structure the timing and conditioning of distributions of funds to their child to encourage good grades, graduations, entrepreneurship, entry into the family business, home ownership, as well as avoidance of drugs, alcohol, and other bad elements.

Within an Incentive Trust, you could also have a Matching provision, in that any money your child earned from employment would be matched by a distribution from the trust. This would encourage them to gain employment and keep a job.

The variations are endless, I have a client who wanted to encourage her kids to marry so she provided for a $5,000.00 wedding gift to be used however her kids chose. I also had a client who wanted to encourage her children to see the world so she provided for a distribution for trips her kids might take out of state and an even larger distribution for international trips.

Incentive Trusts are especially helpful to parents of young children, parents who are a little older, or parents who sense their children may be ever so slightly immature or financially irresponsible.

This law firm services all of North Carolina particularly the Counties of Mecklenburg (Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Ballantyne, Lake Norman, South Park Area), Union (Monroe, Indian Trail, Weddington), Cabarrus (Concord, Kannapolis), Gaston (Gastonia, Mount Holly), Iredell (Statesville, Mooresville), and Cleveland (Shelby, Kings Mountain).

We’ve all seen it before, the backbone of the family dies leaving no will, trust, or insurance and – with her gone – the family fell apart. Family fights erupted and what assets she was able to accumulate during her life have dwindled away to pay unnecessary probate costs, attorney fees, taxes, and the cost of court battles waged over her estate by the family she left behind. Eventually, her family scattered to the winds, taking away with them only resentment of each other and virtually no memory of what she tried to instill in them. That is her legacy.

Legacy Planning is critical for us all to do. It can be simple, painless, and the most valuable investment we make in our family. Legacy Planning is comprised of two elements: Estate Planning and creation of what is called an Ethical Will.

Proper utilization of Estate Planning tools will allow us to pass our wealth and values from one generation to the next. If we each do this, could you even imagine the results and the healthy head start we provide for the coming generations! Estate Planning is discussed in detail elsewhere in this website. Here, we will focus on Ethical Wills.

Although they have roots in the Bible (see Genesis 49 when Jacob gathers his sons around his bed to dispense blessings and commands), Ethical Wills are a more recent phenomenon in the Estate Planner’s toolbox but are gaining in popularity. Ethical Wills are a type of “love letter” you write to your family and friends and leave a bit of you with them. These documents provide a positive, healthy, and organized way to:

• Share your wisdom, personal beliefs, values, and life lessons
• Encourage others with your spiritual or moral principles
• Pass down your oral history and fond memories
• Request and grant forgiveness from people
• Encourage reconciliation or continued peace between family members
• Give your hopes, blessings, and love to future generations
• Leave your best wishes for the happiness of others

Unlike wills and trusts, Ethical Wills are not legally binding documents. But they could be the most cherished and meaningful writing you leave behind. Ethical wills vary in form and are as unique as the individual writing them. They vary from a short letter to a lengthy autobiographical statement to a recorded message. Some people choose to share their Ethical Wills during life at a significant family milestone, may hand a copy to a college-bound child, or read portions aloud at a wedding reception. Although unique, they all allow a person to bestow to others the benefits of their having lived a life and that could mean more than money.

Everyone – no matter how young, old, rich, poor, healthy, or infirm – should have a properly drafted Estate Plan. In addition, an Ethical Will would further contribute to the richness of your legacy and be cherished by your family now and for generations to come.

This law firm services all of North Carolina particularly the Counties of Mecklenburg (Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Ballantyne, Lake Norman, South Park Area), Union (Monroe, Indian Trail, Weddington), Cabarrus (Concord, Kannapolis), Gaston (Gastonia, Mount Holly), Iredell (Statesville, Mooresville), and Cleveland (Shelby, Kings Mountain).

A business succession plan is like estate planning for your business. And just like humans, businesses have a life cycle.

First, in the beginning of our business, we may have incorporated them, gotten a tax-id number, and gotten our permits and licenses to conduct business in the state.

Then, during the life of our businesses we devote much time and money nurturing it, marketing, developing, networking, researching, and sacrificing time away from family and a fun social life. Our businesses represent a huge, valuable investment of ourselves.

And then, at the end, whether it is with our retirement, incapacity, injury, or death, there comes a time when we can no longer run our business. This business we put so much time and effort into. It is at this point, if you have done some good business succession planning, you have already secured your legacy and protected your assets.

For instance, by then, you will have already groomed a successor who is ready to step into your shoes without a hitch and you’ve made provision for your continued receipt of a portion of the profits.

Or you have already identified a buyer for your business that will pay your family market value for it. You may already have something called a buy/sell agreement in place that is funded with a life insurance policy on your life so that the buyer will have no problem coming up with cold hard cash to pay your family for the business.

These are just two examples of business succession planning, the possibilities are endless. But the bottom line is that we need to plan for the end or continuation of our businesses so that all of the time, money, and efforts we put into creating and growing our businesses does not just die with us but is part of our legacy after we are no longer here.

This law firm services all of North Carolina particularly the Counties of Mecklenburg (Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Ballantyne, Lake Norman, South Park Area), Union (Monroe, Indian Trail, Weddington), Cabarrus (Concord, Kannapolis), Gaston (Gastonia, Mount Holly), Iredell (Statesville, Mooresville), and Cleveland (Shelby, Kings Mountain).

If you already have an estate plan, it should not be considered permanent. Conditions, as well as your desires, change. Your plan will try to fairly anticipate some of these changes within reason. However, even though it may be a forward looking plan, we all have to revisit our estate plans to update them for events which happen to us.

I advise my clients to review their plans annually, maybe around the holidays or at their birthdate, and come back to me to discuss them if something significant happened that year.

Important changes in your life might include:

1. Marriage, divorce, or disability of you, a family member, a beneficiary, or fiduciary;
2. Birth or death of a family member, beneficiary, or fiduciary;
3. Large increase or decrease in the net worth of you, a family member, a beneficiary, or fiduciary;
4. Substantial change in the type of your assets;
5. Purchase or sale of a business;
6. Change of residence to another state;
7. Change in tax law;
8. Change in your health condition;
9. Change in any of your relationship dynamics with a family member, a beneficiary, relative, or fiduciary;
10. Change in the need, dependence, or independence of a beneficiary; or
11. Any thing else that is significant.

This law firm services all of North Carolina particularly the Counties of Mecklenburg (Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Ballantyne, Lake Norman, South Park Area), Union (Monroe, Indian Trail, Weddington), Cabarrus (Concord, Kannapolis), Gaston (Gastonia, Mount Holly), Iredell (Statesville, Mooresville), and Cleveland (Shelby, Kings Mountain).

When a person dies without having a valid estate plan in place, his or her property passes by what is called “intestate succession” to heirs according to state law. In other words, if a person doesn’t have a will, the state will make one for him or her. However, this generic default can differ dramatically from what the person actually would have wished for their belongings and loved ones. Even when it is known by all involved what the person “would have wanted,” no exceptions are made where no valid will exists. Nor are there any exceptions made based on need, hardship, or special circumstances.

Here are some benefits of proper planning:

1. Retaining Control Over Your Estate:
If you plan your estate, you will be able to choose who receives which asset from your estate. You will also be able to select the persons who administer your estate. Choosing competent and trust-worthy executors/trustees and giving them the necessary authority will save money, reduce the burden on your survivors, and simplify administration of your estate. It also will reduce a court’s involvement and will avoid arranging and paying for a bond, which may be denied to applicants who are not credit worthy.

2. Continued Parenting:
If you do not want your children to get all of their inheritance at 18 but you want them to get a portion of it when they accomplish certain goals (like graduating from college, getting a job in their major, starting a business) you can get a trust drafted to put conditions on the timing of the receipt of their inheritance. This way you create incentives for your children to be successful in life – even in your absence.

3. Funeral Pre-planning to Ease the strain on your family:
Many people take a burden from their grieving survivors and plan their funeral arrangements when planning their estate. Or you may simply want to limit the expense of your burial or designate its place. You also can provide for your body to be cremated or given to medical science after you die.

4. Avoid Family Conflicts, Confusion, and Unfairness:
Many individuals have complicated family dynamics in which members of the same family do not get along or have resentments. Often, it is the person who passes away who is the “peacemaker” in the family or the “glue” that keeps relatives together. This situation only worsens when the peacemaker passes away – family members may fight over the possessions or feel that their loved one’s wishes are not being carried out. Estate planning is a common sense way to minimize this friction because everyone can be very clear – even ahead of time – of the wishes of the peacemaker for the fate of his/her belongings.

5. Prepare for Your Incapacity:
During estate planning, most people also plan for possible temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. This planning is especially important for single people, parents, and those who live an alternative lifestyle.

Living wills and durable health-care powers of attorney enable you to decide for yourself who can visit you in the hospital and who should make decisions for you about medical treatment. Otherwise, should you become incapacitated; you are left to the wisdom of the Clerk of Court and the legal system to appoint a guardian.

Additionally, disability insurance can protect you and your family if you should become disabled and unable to work.

6. Provide for Your Relatives who need help or guidance:
Do you have family members whose lives might become more difficult without you, such as an elderly parent, disabled child, niece, nephew, or a grandchild whose education you want to help fund? You could establish a trust fund for family members who need support that you won’t be there to otherwise provide.

7. Prevent an Expensive Probate:
Everyone wants to keep the cost of transferring property to beneficiaries as low as possible, which leaves more money for the beneficiaries. A full blown probate includes the costs of fiduciary fees, attorney fees, bonding fees, and court costs. These costs can add up to be a large percentage of your estate. Good estate planning can reduce these expenses significantly.

8. Transfer your property to beneficiaries quickly:
You want your beneficiaries to receive the property you’ve left them without months or years of lag time. There are several options and estate planning tools available which could avoid or greatly ease the pain of probate. Learning about and utilizing these options now means your loved ones need only later use simplified or expedited probate.

9. Benefit Your Church or other Charitable Cause Close to Your Heart:
Your estate plan can help support religious, educational, fraternal, and other charitable causes, either during your lifetime or upon your death, and at the same time take advantage of tax laws designed to encourage private philanthropy. This can not be done without estate planning.

10. Reduce taxes on your estate:
Every dollar your estate has to pay in estate or inheritance taxes is a dollar that your beneficiaries won’t get. A good estate plan can give the maximum allowed by law to your beneficiaries and the minimum to the government.

11. Make sure your business goes on smoothly:
If you have a small business, the operation might be thrown into chaos upon your death. You can provide for an orderly succession and continuation of its affairs by spelling out what will happen to your interest in the business. This is called Business Succession Planning.

12. Asset Protection:
Irrevocable Trusts allow a person to transfer certain assets in order to protect them from estate taxes and certain creditors. This way you leave a bigger estate behind.

This law firm services all of North Carolina particularly the Counties of Mecklenburg (Charlotte, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius, Davidson, Pineville, Ballantyne, Lake Norman, South Park Area), Union (Monroe, Indian Trail, Weddington), Cabarrus (Concord, Kannapolis), Gaston (Gastonia, Mount Holly), Iredell (Statesville, Mooresville), and Cleveland (Shelby, Kings Mountain).