LA Probate Law Top 10 Estate Planning Mistakes
LA probate law and estate planning has many complexities and there is a lot of room for mistakes to be made. Here we will take a look at some of the mistakes that can be made and the easiest and best ways to avoid making them. One of the biggest mistakes that people can make is not writing the will or looking into estate planning. An estate plan is where you put specifically down on paper how you want your possessions to be dispersed upon the event of your death. This helps to ensure that the people that you want your property to be handed down to will receive that and it also helps to increase the value of your estate by bringing down the amount of taxes and other expenses that could come up. Keep in mind that writing a will is a key document that is made ring estate planning however there are many other legal avenues that can be taken to achieve the same outcome. Many estate plans include trusts, property ownership and powers of attorney. By including a will you are taking away the possibility of anybody in your family or other personal relations of being uncertain about your final wishes as to how your estate is going to be doled out and who will inherit your possessions. If you fail to write a will and you pass away the courts then become a part of the equation and they will take over and allow your possessions as they see fit. If your intention is for your spouse to receive an inherit everything and this is not stated clearly in a will the courts can come in and limit what the spouse can have.
LA probate law also carries the possibility of couples who are unmarried finding a spouse completely left without as they are not legally entitled to any of the deceased estate if it is not specifically named in the will. “Common law spouses “or domestic partners may find themselves in a situation where they are having to fight the courts in order to receive an inheritance or a share of your estate if you have not stated otherwise in a will. The importance of a will also carries over to your children. If they are under the age of 18 and you have not written a will the courts will appoint whomever they see fit as a guardian to your children and in some cases this is not someone that the deceased parent would have wanted to have raising their children. In order to have a say or to have your final wishes carried out is the up most importance that a will is made to avoid these problem.
It is also very important to remember that when dealing with LA probate law you need to reconsider any wills or estate planning that you have done in the past, being rewritten or read you every few years to make sure that any changes in your circumstances such as children being born etc. are covered legally under your will. The most important thing for parents to do is to point the guardian to take care of and raise their children in the event of their death. This is often overlooked and when it is can create havoc in your child’s life. Losing their parent be hard enough without having to deal with stress and turmoil of not knowing who is good take care of them from that point on. If the parents of a child are unmarried it is important that the mother or legal custodian of points guardianship in a will because of father is not automatically the first person that will have rights to that child. If the mother wishes the child to go directly to the father it needs to be clearly stated in her will, if however she chooses for the child to go elsewhere that needs to be clearly stated as well. Do not wait to establish legally the person or people that you want to have raising your children if something were to happen to you. You should make it a habit to review your estate planning and your will and least every 3 to 5 years. A lot can happen in that time frame and a lot can change in a person’s life. You want to make sure that anything new that you have accumulated as possession, children born to you or monetary gains within that timeframe are addressed.
Nobody knows when their time will come so the sooner you take the steps and begin the process of estate planning and writing a will the better off you and your loved ones will be. Making sure that you know your rights and responsibilities according to LA probate law is the only way to ensure that your final wishes will be carried out. Nobody can read your mind and the courts will not allow people to assume what you would have wanted or what would have been in the best interest of your possessions or your children for that matter. You can avoid a lot of heartache and stress for the people that you love during a time of grief after you have passed away. It also gives you peace of mind knowing that everything you have worked so hard in your life to achieve and gain will be placed into the hands of the people that you would want to have received them.
LA Probate Law Top 10 Estate Planning Mistakes
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