Why should you care what happens after you’re gone?
It’s a fair question, but the answer quickly presents itself. Your estate should benefit your surviving family, but it can soon become a legal and financial burden without appropriate planning. That’s where estate planning comes in.
Here’s a basic guide to the benefits of estate planning and why it matters.
Everyone Gets Their Share
The most obvious benefit of estate planning is that it ensures your estate will be distributed according to your wishes.
That means an appropriate share for everyone—and that assets don’t go to anyone they shouldn’t. Estate planning will account for all of these assets and allow you to pick appropriate beneficiaries. With that process done, you can complete a legal will that sets it all down in writing.
Resolve International Assets
One thing that can cause major complications when distributing an estate is the possession of international assets. This can raise all kinds of complex legal issues that you need to account for before you die.
International estate planning isn’t easy, but it’s far easier to tackle the issue in your estate plan than it is for your family to deal with it once you’re gone. This will ensure all of your assets are accounted for, whether they’re domestic or overseas.
Keep Costs Down
Death can be expensive. Even when your family should be receiving the benefits of your estate, they could end up under financial pressure.
A long probate period can become expensive for your beneficiaries. On top of that, there may be taxes associated with your estate.
Estate planning will help you figure out these costs ahead of time and keep probate as simple as possible. Both of these things will help relieve the financial burden on your family.
Limit Admin
An overlooked aspect of the probate and inheritance process is the sheer admin it entails.
It can be a huge task to process all of the administration associated with a complex estate. This can add stress for your beneficiaries in an already difficult time.
Through estate planning, you can streamline this admin and prepare for it in life. One of the benefits of estate planning is that you’ll have already done a lot of the paperwork so your family doesn’t have to.
Keep the Family Together
Not all of the benefits of estate planning lie with tangibles. Death and the distribution of an estate can strain familial bonds and even draw out the worst in people. The more gray areas there are in inheritance issues, the worse this can be.
By planning the distribution of your estate and encoding it legally, you prevent most of this infighting before it can start.
The Benefits of Estate Planning Explained
These benefits of estate planning make a clear case for its importance. If you want to make things easier for your family and save them from stress when you’re gone, be sure to make plans for your estate.
Looking for more money management tips? Be sure to check our Investment section for more.