When you walk into a Brevard County estate planning attorney’s office for the first time, there are a number of questions you can expect to be asked. For instance, you will be asked about your heirs, assets you have and expect to have and how you would like to have your estate distributed, among other questions.
But there questions you should have for the lawyer, too. A recent article listed some of the questions estate planning pros hope you will ask.
At the very top of the list is a pair of questions that can get straight to the heart of estate planning: “What are the limitations of my will?” and “Do I need a trust?”
Because our life expectancies continue to stretch out, we are increasingly likely to at some point “reach a state of mental incapacity,” the article states. Because a will only deals with what you want to happen after your death, it’s important to have a health care directive in your estate plan.
The directive will enable you to have your wishes regarding medical care carried out even if you are unable to speak for yourself.
And when you ask about a trust, your estate planning attorney will explain the different types of trusts (revocable, irrevocable, a living trust, and so on) that can help people protect their loved ones and their assets.
On the subject of trusts, here’s another question to pose to your estate planning attorney: “Are my assets titled into the name of my trust?” The reality is that once the trust is set up, you will still need to title assets into the name of the trust. If they’re titled into a name other than that (even your name), a trustee won’t have the ability to manage or distribute those assets.
This is just a sampling of the important questions you can have for your attorney and queries your lawyer will have for you that will enable you to take care of your loved ones.
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