Celebrating Legacy This Holiday Season
The holiday season is all about togetherness, reminiscing about the past, and looking forward to the future. While it's not the cheeriest topic during festive dinners, it's worth pondering what legacy you aim to leave behind. What dreams do you have for the next generation? Maybe there's a special something you want to entrust to a close friend or colleague?
Penning down your wishes in a will or trust is about more than just preserving your voice posthumously. It's a guiding light, eliminating confusion and potential disagreements over assets. Let's delve into why drafting a will is crucial, especially now.
Decoding Inheritance
You might think, "Do I even own enough to warrant a will or trust?" Surprisingly, state-defined thresholds for probate court can be quite minimal, and even smaller estates often need probating.
Without a will, the legal system distributes your assets based on the state's default rules. This usually means your spouse secures half, with your children sharing the balance. Personalized directives? They won't matter.
Modern family structures often involve multiple spouses and children from varied unions. The courts then need to innovate. Although ex-partners might not have a claim, your extended family including children, grandchildren, siblings, and even cousins might. If you're keen on specific allocations or want to sidestep direct inheritors, a will, often combined with a trust, is your playbook.
Revisiting & Refining Your Wishes
Family get-togethers aren't always smooth sailing. A comment here, a debate there, and sometimes decisions made in the heat of the moment might need rethinking. Worried about penning down something in your will or trust that might need tweaking later?
Wills and trust are fluid documents. Through legal amendments called codicils for wills or restatements for trusts, you can modify sections or the entirety of your initial will and trust. Evolving family dynamics, business growth, or asset accumulation? Adjust your will and trust accordingly.
Don't be paralyzed by the "what ifs." Crafting a clear will and trust can shield your loved ones from unnecessary disputes, offering more peace than any holiday truce.
Here to Guide You
Drafting wills and trusts is what I do. Start your journey with my Peace of Mind Planning Session. This is a 1-hour Zoom meeting where we will review your questionnaire, answer your questions, discuss your options, and review my unique flat fee packages. If we decide we’re a good fit to work together, we’ll take the next steps. If not, that’s fine too! Book your Peace of Mind Planning Session HERE. Mention this post and I'll happily waive the $450 session fee.
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This article is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion and should not be relied on as such. Legal advice can only be provided to clients of McPhillips Law in response to a specific fact situation.
