If you’ve worked hard to establish a solid portfolio of properties and financial assets, you need to act while times are good and build an estate plan to protect your family and loved ones in the future. Having an estate plan is one of the best end-of-life plans you can make and control what happens to your assets following your demise.
Unfortunately, estate planning is a sensitive topic that usually ends up o the back burner. Some people think they’re too young. Others think they’re not wealthy enough or don’t like to think about the aftermath of their death.
The good news is estate planning is not as complicated as you might think. All you need is an experienced estate planning lawyer well-versed in your state’s estate laws. With their guidance and intervention, you can create a solid plan for your estate and avoid any financial or emotional distress for your family.
In this post, we’ll share five simple and effective tips you can use to protect your loved ones when working with a Nevada estate planning lawyer.
5 Estate Planning Tips for Nevada Residents
1. Speak With Your Family
The first thing you need to do before putting down anything on paper is to have a conversation with your family members, especially those who will inherit your property or assets following your demise. These individuals should be familiar with the content of your estate plan and provide their consent or raise any issues beforehand to prevent probate.
2. Outline Your Specific Needs
Most people don’t know where to get started when creating an estate plan. Therefore, it’s highly recommended that you speak to a financial advisor and estate planning lawyer to help you map out the essentials and create a custom plan. These professionals can maximize your beneficiaries’ inheritance by reducing estate taxes (if any) and planning your asset distribution fairly.
3. Prepare Your Estate Planning Documents
One of the most essential aspects of estate planning involves creating proper documents to spell out your wishes regarding asset distribution. You can also establish an advanced health directive to offer guidance on medical treatments, especially if you have a life-threatening or terminal disease that will stop you from making important decisions due to hospitalization.
A Nevada estate planning lawyer can also help you draft a living will that outlines the medical treatments you want and assign a healthcare power of attorney. For properties and businesses, they can assign a financial power of attorney to make decisions on your behalf.
4. Set Up Guardianship for Dependents
Whether it’s your spouse, children, or parents, you need to ensure that they’re taken care of after you’re gone. Apart from financially providing for them, you must also set up guardianship for dependents and get their consent in time (except for minor children). You can also name a trustee to manage your assets or money until your children are old enough to take over. Guardians can also include close relatives or friends.
5. Review and Update Your Estate Plan
Just because you’ve gone through the process of creating an estate plan doesn’t mean it’s final. People change, and so do circumstances, financial status, and several other aspects of life. So, it’s a smart idea to keep updating your plan and keep it as current as possible. For instance, just because you have a healthy relationship with your spouse right now doesn’t mean the relationship can’t end in the future.
Similarly, you may be required to sell assets you have included in your will during a financial downfall which will require you to make amendments.
Contact a Nevada Estate Planning Lawyer Right Away!
Creating an estate plan is one of the smartest things you can do for your spouse, parents, children, and other family members. However, you need an experienced lawyer well-versed in Nevada estate laws to help you with your end-of-life planning.
The experienced Nevada estate planning lawyers at the Bourassa Law Group are at your service to create a customized plan encompassing all your financial and non-financial needs. So, call (800)870-8910 for a free consultation. Let us help you plan for everything, from asset distribution to guardianship of dependants, healthcare decisions, and more.
1-800-870-8910