An estate plan should be aligned with your goals as of today, but flexible enough to be adaptable in the future. You can start the estate planning process by thinking about the assets you own and the liabilities you would owe when you pass away, but you also need to ask important ‘what if’ questions. If you’re not careful with estate planning, your loved ones may need to hire a probate lawyer to help them sort out confusing issues.
These what if questions help you consider the people you’d like to appoint in critical roles, the decisions you’d like made on your behalf and the tasks that you may need handled for you if something happens to you and you’re unable to render these decisions on your own.
Hiring an Estate Lawyer to Avoid Probate Court
Inflexible plans can cause problems in the future, eradicating all the work you put into creating an estate plan and sending your loved ones to probate court or court to appoint someone to make these important decisions. By the time you wait to get help, it may be too late to implement important strategies that can help you prepare for things such as Medicaid or to name the person and tasks you’d like them to handle under a power of attorney.
For example, if a court determines that you are not competent enough to make these decisions on your own and you wait until the last minute after a diagnosis of dementia or other problem has occurred, you may find yourself facing far more legal problems than you expected.
Choose the Right Estate Attorney
Work with an experienced estate planning lawyer to discuss all possible ‘what if’ scenarios so that you have flexibility and power in your estate plan. You can set up a meeting to discuss what estate planning looks like so you’ll feel confident and prepared for your future.
Reach out to our MA estate planning office for help.
