Long Island Elder Law & Estate Planning

Smithtown estate planning attorneys provide help to clients who are interested in making a comprehensive estate plan. Creating an estate plan is the key to taking control over your legacy and making sure you can protect your assets as well as maintain autonomy towards the end of your life. Everyone should have an estate plan in place and you should make certain to work with an experienced attorney to create a plan that is right for you. smithtown estate planning attorneys

Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC is here and ready to help. Our Smithtown estate planning attorneys can explain the ins-and-outs of the estate planning process, can help you to identify the steps you need to achieve your goals, and can work with you to use the right legal tools to put your plans in place. Give us a call today to find out about how we can help you to do the estate planning process correctly or read on to learn about some of the top mistakes people make when creating an estate plan that we can help you to avoid.

Assuming You Don’t Need an Estate Plan

One big mistake people make is assuming they don’t need to create a plan. You may think you won’t need a plan if you’re very young, if you have limited assets, or if you don’t have any heirs or beneficiaries.

However, you do need to create a plan if you care about what happens if you get sick or if you have anyone depending upon you. Even younger people need an estate plan because there are no guarantees you will live to old age. You don’t want to pass away when you are young and leave your family unprotected, so making a plan to provide for your loved ones and determine who will care for any children you have is very important.

Making an estate plan is important even if you don’t have a lot of assets, because you may benefit from other estate planning tools, such as creating a power of attorney to name someone who will manage wealth in case something happens to you or such as creating a living will that allows you to express in advance your preferences on emergency medical care.  Whatever your situation, chances are good your future would be more secure if you worked with an attorney to make a plan personalized for you.

Waiting too Long to Make an Estate Plan

If you wait to make an estate plan, you may get sick and never be able to express your preference. You must be of sound mind and body to make a last will and testament or otherwise to take steps to facilitate the transfer of your assets. If you have already been affected by a serious illness or old age, it may be too late for you to take action to specify who you would have wished to inherit your assets.

Failing to Consider the Needs of your Heirs or Beneficiaries

When you make your estate plan, you need to think about the heirs or beneficiaries. They may have unique issues you need to address in your estate planning process. For example, if you are planning on leaving money to someone under the age of 18, the child can’t manage the money directly. If you don’t act, the court could end up appointing a guardian. If you do act, however, you can create a trust or use the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act to specify who you believe should be held responsible for managing the assets you left to the child.

Not Creating an Estate Plan That’s Comprehensive Enough

Many people think creating a last will and testament isn’t enough but this isn’t the case. You may need many other legal documents, including a power of attorney and a living will that will allow you to, respectively, specify a person in charge of managing your assets and making your decisions once you cannot do so and which will allow you to specify the kinds of care you do and don’t want to receive. Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC  can help you to ensure your comprehensive estate plan is as extensive as necessary to provide protections.

Getting Help from Smithtown Estate Planning Attorneys

Smithtown estate planning attorneys at Mark S. Eghrari & Associates, PLLC  can provide personalized help and support so you can avoid these common mistakes and so you can avoid other errors in creating your comprehensive estate plan. Taking control over your legacy and your future is too important to leave to chance, so you should reach out to our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team today to find out how we can help you.

You can join us for a free seminar to get an overview of how estate planning works and the services we can provide. When you’re ready to take the first step towards creating your own comprehensive estate plan, give us a call at (631) 265-0599 or contact us online today.

Latest posts by Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)

About Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney

Mark S. Eghrari is an attorney in private practice in Smithtown, New York. He has been in practice since 1988. Mark S. Eghrari provides extensive estate and tax planning services to individuals and businesses. Mr. Eghrari’s primary focus is helping clients avoid probate, minimize or eliminate Federal and State Estate taxes and protect their assets from the high cost of nursing care, if they become ill.