So, you finally decided to talk to an experienced San Diego estate planning attorney to get your estate plan together; congratulations! But then you start looking at different attorney websites and how to begin putting your estate plan together, and all these legal words and phrases start jumping out at you: “trustee,” “settlor,” “issue.”
Forget it, you might say to yourself, I will do it next year.
Estate planning involves unpleasant thoughts and conversations about “light” topics such as death or possible incapacity. If you are married or have a domestic partner, your estate planning may also require tough conversations about things that you both may not agree on but feel very strongly about.
Throw in having to talk to a snooty lawyer, and you can understand why so many people would rather die than create their estate plan, and many do, which leads to their estate being administered in the San Diego Probate Court.
But estate planning does not have to be that unpleasant. Once you understand the basics about how most estate plans work and realize an experienced San Diego estate planning attorney can tailor your estate plan precisely the way you want and how you think your family needs, estate planning no longer feels like such a hard thing to do.
If you have made it this far in the post, I know what you are thinking - Would you please tell me how to start my estate plan already?
So here we go…
Should I use an experienced San Diego Attorney to Create my Estate Plan, or Should I Do it myself?
Many people will tell you you don’t need an attorney to create an estate plan. They are right. As someone who used to do corporate law (don’t judge me), I can also tell you that you don’t need an attorney to create a $10,000,000 merger agreement, but it’s probably a good idea.
Your estate, which generally includes everything you own, is the result of your life’s hard work. If you want to ensure that it is distributed the way you want after you are gone and takes care of the people you care about and does not end up getting distributed in the San Diego Probate Court, you are much safer going to an attorney.
Some people feel thrilled using online software that promises to create a trust for them for a fraction of the price an attorney will charge. Lucky for them, most of the time, they will never be alive to find out if their online trust actually works.
As someone who has reviewed many cheap trusts made online or after using a $500 coupon with a meal at Red Lobster, I think they are a terrible idea. I am not going to get into all the reasons why (it could be a topic for five more blog posts).
Talking to an experienced San Diego estate planning attorney can help you clarify most questions about creating your estate plan and give you direction on how to do so.
What to Prepare Before Meeting A San Diego Estate Planning Attorney
Now, assuming that you have scheduled an appointment with a San Diego estate planning attorney, there are certain things you can start thinking about to make the conversation more productive.
Clients can find it challenging to answer two main questions when creating their estate plan. Answering these questions, or even just having a general idea in your head before you step into the attorney’s office, will make the process of creating your estate plan much more smooth:
- How do I want my property divided when I (and, if applicable, my spouse) pass away?
This is a huge question to consider and discuss with your spouse. You don’t have to have the final distribution figured out before you see your attorney, but asking yourself the following few questions may help you figure out how you want your estate divided:
- Are there any specific gifts I want to give anyone?
- How do I want the remainder of my estate to be distributed?
- If I choose to distribute a gift or a percentage of my estate to someone, but they are not alive by the time I pass away, who does the gift go to instead?
- The other question you want to consider is: After my spouse and I pass away, who will be the trust’s successor trustee?
The trustees are the individuals (or institutions) responsible for managing the trust. The first trustee of a revocable living trust would usually be those who created the trust (yourself and your spouse if you are doing a married trust). The question you need to answer is who will be the trustees after I have passed away and will be responsible for distributing my assets the way I instructed in a trust?
You don’t need to have only one person in mind. In fact, it would probably be ideal to have a list of about three and to think of your preference for them to be trustees.
Once you have a general idea of how you want your assets distributed and who you would like to act as trustee of your trust after you pass away, you will be much better prepared for your initial meeting with your estate planning attorney.
Conclusion:
I hope this article helped you get closer to creating your estate plan. If you want to discuss creating your estate plan with an experienced San Diego estate planning attorney, I would love to assist you if you need help planning your estate plan. Contact me by clicking here and I will get back to you as soon as possible.