Estate Planning: Who Should Get One and Why Is It So Important?

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Landerholm Family Law’s Associate Attorney, Triston Dallas,
explains what an estate plan and why it’s important for people of
all ages to consider.






An estate is everything you own-everybody has an estate,
regardless of their wealth. You don’t need to have millions of
dollars to have an estate plan- it isn't based on the value of
your estate, but rather it’s based on your specific values and
how you want that to pass on to your next of kin, your heirs, the
next generation 






An estate is your home, your cars, your personal assets, your
bank accounts, etc. An estate plan creates a road-map as to how
you want your estate to be managed while you're still alive and
how you want it to be passed to your heirs and beneficiaries
after you’ve passed away.



 


An estate plan allows you to not only assign how you want
assets to be distributed, but it lets you plan according your
values, such as what religion you would want your kids to be
raised in if you were to pass, or how you want your remains to be
handled. 



 


An estate plan allows you to assign who is to handle which
roles in your estate if you were to die or become incapacitated
or have a terminal illness. You can decide who you want to stand
in as power of attorney, personal representative, executor or
manager of estate, guardian, custodian, or conservator. 



 


While there are will kits available, these cover only the
basics of estate planning. There are many details that can be
missed without the help of an attorney, such as estate tax
planning, and other necessary analysis. 



 


 


If you don’t have an estate plan in place, the court will
look to your spouse, children, siblings, or any next of kin. If
you don’t have any living kin, the state will acquire all of your
assets. Additionally, without a will, your assets may get
distributed by the state in a way that you don’t find
agreeable. 






Estate plans should be reviewed every five years, or when a
big life event happens, such as having children, remarrying,
divorcing, or a rise or decline in income. 






If you have questions about how to get started on your estate
plan today, you can call our office at (503) 227-0200.