estate planning

Everyone has an estate; some are large, some are small, and all are unique, but everyone has an estate since “estate” simply means everything you own. In addition to the typical discomfort one has when discussing what happens “when you die,” one of the main reasons people put off creating an Estate Plan is because they feel they do not have a big enough estate to plan. I tell them that everyone has an estate to plan and I ask them if they want a court deciding who receives their hard-earned assets, administering their personal affairs, or making important medical decisions for them, because that is exactly what happens if they do not plan ahead. Everyone should recognize and appreciate that they are putting in long work hours, or have retired after a lifetime of hard work, focused on building up their assets (bank accounts, real and personal property, investments, life insurance, and retirement accounts, to name a few) in order to support themselves and their family during their lifetime, and then passing it on to their loved ones or charities after they die. In my professional opinion, taking a gigantic gamble by failing to protect your estate and create your Estate Plan is a foolish risk to take. The time to plan for your future is now!

When somebody passes away and they have not properly prepared their Estate Plan, the person’s estate will fall into the probate system and state law will determine how the estate is distributed. It is highly likely that the probate process will take at least 6 months before a single asset is allocated to a beneficiary, but this is typically how our extremely busy probate system plays out. In addition to the stressful probate process your family will need to go through, it is unlikely that the distribution of your assets and other postmortem decisions will not match what you would have planned for in a professionally-drafted Estate Plan. To avoid dying without an Estate Plan that is tailored to your unique situation and wishes, it is an invaluable decision to contact an Estate Planning attorney to begin the process of creating either a Trust or a Will, plus, a Financial Power of Attorney, Health Care Surrogate, and Living Will. 

Our goal is to educate our clients to understand the benefits of the Estate Planning process. It is essential to have an experienced Estate Planning attorney listen to all of your questions and concerns and walk you through the entire Estate Planning process in Florida. Creating a basic Estate Plan (i.e., Will, Trust, Financial Power of Attorney, Health Care Surrogate and Living Will) does not need to be intimidating; in fact, it could provide you with a great sense of security because you can rest easy knowing that your family will be secure and your assets will be distributed as you wish.

For more information on the Estate Planning process and to get started on creating your individualized plan, contact Judd Bean Law to set-up your free initial consultation. Either click on the “Free Case Evaluation Link” and fill in your information or call us at 813-503-4332.