Estate planning is the process by which an individual or family arranges the transfer of assets in anticipation of death. An estate is the total property, real and personal, owned by an individual prior to distribution through a trust or will. Real property includes everything things like cars, household items, and bank accounts.
Estate planning distributes the real and personal property to an individual’s heirs. An estate plan aims to preserve the maximum amount of wealth possible for the intended beneficiaries and flexibility for the individual prior to death. Wills and trusts are common ways in which individuals dispose of their wealth.
Trusts, unlike wills, have the benefit of avoiding probate, a lengthy and costly legal process that oversees the transfer of assets.
To learn more about the many estate planning tools that could benefit your loved ones down the road, give attorney Brian K. Stanley a call. Brian can examine your assets, as well as your short- and long-term goals, in order to help you design an estate plan that makes sense for you.
By building an all-encompassing estate plan today, you can rest easier knowing that your wishes are legally declared. This, in turn, will make things easier on your family when the time comes to distribute your assets and property down the road. Allow attorney Brian K. Stanley to guide you through this important process so that you can spend less time worrying about the future and more time enjoying the present.