Studies show that approximately 75% of us do not have a current Estate Plan. They don’t match the desire of the individual to take care of themselves in the event of their mental disability or take care of their loved ones after they become mental disabled or after they pass on.
If you don’t have a valid Estate Plan in place, the State will decide what happens on mental disability and with what you own after you pass on. It may go to people you do not even like.
Will based plans force assets through Probate Court, where in North Carolina there is up to $6,000.00 in Court costs, delay times of 18 to 24 months, and it is fully public record. It is also easier to attack a Will in Probate Court.
Trust based plans, where the assets are fully titled in the name of Trust, can avoid Probate Court. However, most Trust plans do not have good Mental Disability planning in the event you become mentally disabled—dementia, closed head injury, or Alzheimer’s. Most don’t have remarriage protection in case the surviving spouse remarries, or asset protection in the event your surviving spouse or children are sued in divorce court or as the result of an automobile accident.
Make sure that you use an experienced Estate Planning Lawyer that will ask questions and listen to your concerns, goals, and fears and build a Customized Protective Estate Plan™ to meet your needs.
At the Law Firm of Steven Andrew Jackson, Attorney and Counsellor at Law, we have helped hundreds of families protect themselves and their loved ones, avoid Estate Taxes and Probate Costs, and keep their Estate Plans current with the law through The Customized Protective Estate Planning Solution™.