A Hauppauge estate planning attorney can help you to determine if you need a last will and testament. Many people do not believe they need a will if they don’t have substantial assets or if they are young without many or any dependents. However, you should generally have a will – and should likely also use other estate planning tools – so you can take control over your legacy and protect your loved ones. 
Eghrari Wealth Training Law Firm can provide you with guidance on the creation of a will and can help you to understand all of the different steps you should take to make a comprehensive estate plan. Don’t wait to take action until something happens to you and it is too late for you to control the distribution of the assets you have worked hard to acquire. Give us a call today to talk with a Hauppauge estate planning attorney and find out about the ways in which our legal team can assist you with your plans for end-of-life issues and plans for after your death.
Do You Need a Last Will and Testament?
Making a last will and testament is important for everyone, even if you don’t have a lot of assets and you don’t have dependents.
Someone has to decide what will happen to whatever amount of assets you do have. If you don’t make that choice, intestacy law will apply to determine who inherits the assets in your estate. You may not like the outcome that results from intestacy law being used to distribute your assets, although intestacy laws do favor close family members. You don’t want to cause your family to fight over what happens to your wealth when you pass away and you can make a last will and testament to try to make sure that does not happen.
In many cases, you can take additional steps to avoid family fighting over estate assets that could occur when wealth is transferred. If you made a will, for example, you could include a no contest clause in the will with the goal of discouraging someone from contesting the will. If the will is contested anyway, the person who made the choice to contest the will could end up forfeiting his or her inheritance.
Your ability to determine what happens to your wealth and avoid family fighting will hinge upon whether you have any plan in place – including a will and/or other legal tools. You should not assume that you have all the time in the world to make your last will and testament because you never know when something could happen to you. It is relatively simple and straightforward to make a will, and you should work with an experienced attorney to create one today if you do not already have one, so you can control your legacy.
Is a Last Will and Testament Enough for Your Estate Plan?
A last will and testament is a good starting point for making an estate plan, but it is rarely the only estate planning document that you need. While a will can determine who inherits assets, you may wish for some of your wealth to transfer outside of the probate process so you can reduce costs of probate and get an inheritance to your family faster.
If your estate is large enough that estate tax could be assessed, you’ll also need to go beyond just creating a last will and testament because a will does not allow you to protect your assets from being lost due to taxes.
Eghrari Wealth Training Law Firm can explain tools like trusts, pay-on-death accounts, joint ownership and other methods of asset transfer that can be utilized instead of or in addition to making a simple will. We can also assist with addressing end-of-life issues not addressed in a will, such as what should happen to you if you become incapacitated.
Getting Help from A Hauppauge Estate Planning Attorney
A Hauppauge estate planning attorney at Eghrari Wealth Training Law Firm can assist you with determining if you need a last will and testament and with determining what else should be part of your estate plan. Once you have worked with our legal team and identified the right legal tools to protect your family, control what happens to your assets, and secure your legacy, we can assist you with moving forward and putting your estate plan into action. To find out more about how our firm can help you, give us a call today.
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