Estate Planning: Why It's Important to Make a Plan - iOnGreenville: Your Guide to Greenville South Carolina

Why is having an Estate Plan important? Most adults, as they mature and think about the future of their families, want to leave a legacy for their family to remember them by. This is what an Estate Plan does.

Having an Estate Plan is important for three primary reasons:

(1) it is the best way to leave a legacy for your family
(2) without an Estate Plan one has no control over how his assets will be distributed after death
(3) with a proper plan one can control the passing of his assets for two generations or more.

Therefore, Estate Planning is a process whereby a person thinks about and projects what is going to be happening from this point in his life until after his death. It primarily deals with assets that have been or will be accumulated but also deals with family relationships and providing for the family after death.

The simplest Estate Plan consists of a will. However, leaving your estate through a will requires your loved ones to go through Probate after you die, which usually takes a year or longer to complete. This only adds additional stress to the already painful reality one suffers after the death of a loved one. A will simply states what you want to happen to your assets after you die. They all have to be dealt with and distributed within a very short time after your death.

A better solution for almost everyone is a family trust. A trust can deal with assets that you want to pass, not only immediately after your death, but even down to a second or later generation after your death. Also, a trust will avoid the probate process. A will cannot do either of these things.

We also encourage everyone to have a durable power of attorney, to give someone the authority to help you if you cannot help yourself as well as a healthcare power of attorney and a living will which simply lets you dictate what will happen in medical situations when you cannot help yourself or tell the doctor what you want.

Our Estate Plan package encompasses all of the above – Family Trust, Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will and a special will called a “Pour-Over Will.” However, we can also prepare just one or more of these if that is a better fits for our client needs. We also give the client many other documents to help guide him through the process and help organize his life for the future. You can contact The Greene Law Firm at 864-271-7940 to learn more and schedule a consultation.