Estate Planning Law

Estate planning law governs the process of arranging the administration or transfer of a person’s estate in anticipation of incapacitation or death. An estate plan comprises a collection of documents that includes a last will and testament, power of attorney, trust, and health care directives. Despite the importance of estate planning law in protecting family assets and the interests of dependents, a 2023 study found that only a third of Americans have an estate plan.

The following estate planning law guide highlights the basics you need to know, answering what is estate planning, who are the parties to an estate plan, what are the must-have documents, and a list of additional frequently asked questions. Depending on the size of a person’s estate, the estate planning law process can be daunting. If a person has assets in multiple states or other matters that complicate the process, that person may benefit from consulting with an estate planning law firm.

Estate planning is making arrangements for how your assets should be handled in the event of your incapacitation or death. An estate plan can also involve documenting advance healthcare directives should you become ill and unable to express your wishes. While the subject of estate planning law seems to be more popular among wealthy people, anyone with assets should take the time to prepare an estate plan. This advance planning will help to ensure the smooth administration of assets, protecting the person’s wealth and the interests of the person’s loved ones.

Without clear directions, the administration of a person’s estate, its size notwithstanding, is left to the court’s discretion, which can inconvenience family members or slow down the inheritance process. While the court may strive to act in the best interests of the deceased person’s loved ones, its decisions might not necessarily reflect that person’s wishes, especially if there are minor children or dependents with special needs.

In addition, the process of estate planning law allows a person to employ various strategies to minimize the tax burden for beneficiaries who receive an inheritance. There are many benefits to planning your estate. You may be able to simplify this multi-step process by working with an estate planning lawyer. The estate planning law process may include the following steps:

When preparing an estate plan, the testator may enlist the help of professionals, such as an estate planning law firm, accountant, and financial advisor. However, the parties to the plan generally include:

Common terms used in estate planning law include:

Estate planning law requires multiple documents to complete the process. These include a will, power of attorney, trust, list of digital assets, beneficiary designations, advance healthcare directives, a list of insurance policies & financial information, and others. 

A last will and testament is a document that states how a person’s estate should be distributed upon his or her death. It details all assets and the recipient(s) of each. In addition to the beneficiaries, the will names the personal representative (executor) who should administer the estate. If there are minor children, the will should also feature a section appointing a guardian to look after them until they reach adulthood.

Upon the testator’s death, the executor files the will in court to initiate the probate process. The court then validates the will and issues a grant of probate to authorize its execution.

A trust is an agreement between the grantor (estate owner) and a trustee. It authorizes the trustee to hold assets on behalf of the grantor for the interests of the beneficiaries. Trusts can be revocable or irrevocable. 

Revocable — The owner can change a revocable living trust whenever necessary. However, this privilege denies the owner federal tax benefits due to the ability to access the assets and reallocate them within the estate. This type of trust bears the same advantage as an irrevocable trust in that it allows the trustee to distribute the assets to the beneficiaries upon the owner’s death without going through the probate process.

Irrevocable — An irrevocable living trust does not allow the owner to make changes after the transfer of assets into the trust. As a result, it comes with estate tax benefits and exempts the assets from the probate process.

A durable power of attorney is a document authorizing a person to make decisions on the signer’s behalf. These may include financial, legal, or medical decisions. Unlike a basic power of attorney, a durable power of attorney allows the appointed person to act on the signer’s behalf after his or her incapacitation.

This document is an important list of the testator’s digital assets with the login information. According to estate planning law, the testator may also nominate a digital executor to distribute these assets upon his or her death.

In estate planning law, beneficiary designations are the named recipients of non-probate assets. These are assets that do not require probate to transfer to the beneficiaries. Examples include life insurance plans, pensions, and 401(k) accounts. Usually, testators do not include these assets in their will. Instead, the respective institutions have procedures for providing the name(s) of beneficiaries. Upon the account owner’s death, ownership of these assets automatically transfers to the designated beneficiaries as specified in estate planning law.

Advance health care directives pertain to the health care decisions that must be made for a person who has become incapacitated. These mainly comprise two documents:

This document is simply a list of all insurance policies and financial accounts (e.g., investments, bank accounts, retirement plans, mortgages, credit cards, etc.). In addition, the list should include access information for the documents prepared according to estate planning law. This information can be captured in an Excel sheet or notebook and stored with other estate planning law documents.

In most cases, working with an estate planning lawyer can help simplify the process. Unless all your assets are in beneficiary-designated accounts (e.g., life insurance policies and bank accounts), then you might want assistance from an estate planning law professional.

Generally, a person may want to contact an estate planning law firm for assistance:

Estate planning law empowers people to make comprehensive arrangements for how their estate should be managed or distributed should they become incapacitated or die. In addition, the estate planning law process can help reduce estate transfer taxes. One can employ multiple estate planning strategies to shorten the probate process, including transferring assets to beneficiary-designated accounts like bank accounts and life insurance policies. Putting assets in trusts, such as an irrevocable living trust, can allow beneficiaries to receive the inheritance directly upon the testator’s death without going through the probate process.

An estate plan comprises multiple documents, including a will, trust, durable power of attorney, list of digital assets, beneficiary designations, advance health care directives, and list of insurance policies & financial information. While estate planning law is crucial for everyone who owns assets, it can be complex, especially if you have assets in other states or want to set up an irrevocable trust. Unless you have all your assets in beneficiary-designated accounts, consider hiring an attorney from an estate planning law firm to guide you through the process.