What Does an Estate Planning Attorney Do?

If you want to make sure your family is taken care of even after you pass away, you should look into estate planning. This involves putting your wishes in writing regarding who gets your assets, who will take care of your minor children, and other important decisions. To get started, you should hire an estate planning attorney to guide you through every step of this process. If you’re unsure how a lawyer can help, here’s an overview of what they can do for you as you plan for the future.

Do You Need Help with Estate Planning Basics?

First, an attorney will educate you on the estate planning tools that are right for you. For instance, you might have questions about whether you need a will, a trust, or both. Once you decide, your lawyer can create the document with your input.

An estate planning attorney can assist with other important decisions involving your future, too. Examples of what this lawyer can do for you include:

• Picking an executor for your will
• Choosing a trustee for your trust
• Establishing a power of attorney for health care and financial decisions
• Deciding which beneficiaries should get which assets
• Minimizing estate taxes
• Appointing a guardian for your minor children

These are all critical tasks that must be done as you plan for how your estate should be handled so there’s no room for error. Leave these duties to an estate planning attorney for peace of mind.

Are You Thinking About Revising Your Will or Trust?

Maybe you already have the estate planning basics figured out, as you might have made a will or trust years ago. But you can still get help from a lawyer since you’re supposed to review these documents every few years. In fact, the following life events should trigger you to update your will:

• Marriage
• Divorce
• Birth of a baby
• Death of a beneficiary
• Health problems
• Financial changes

If it’s time to update your will, you can hire a Minnesota estate planning attorney to help you add an amendment to the document. You might also choose to throw out the old will and write a new one, depending on how many changes you need to make. Either way, hiring a Minneapolis wills lawyer will make the process easy.

Do You Need an Asset Protection Plan?

Another way an estate planning attorney can assist you is by making an asset protection plan. This safeguards your most precious assets from people who might try to take them, such as creditors or former spouses. Creating an asset protection plan is especially recommended if you own a business and want to protect your personal assets from financial or legal actions that affect your company.

An estate planning attorney can assist with the above tasks and more. Contact our law firm at 612-448-9653 to talk to our attorneys about how we can help protect your loved ones in the long run.