Virginia Beach Estate Planning Attorneys
Who Needs Estate Planning?
Everyone! Estate planning isn’t about how much money you have, it’s about protecting what you have during your lifetime for you, and protecting what you have for those you love after you’re gone. It ensures that your “stuff” gets to the people you love, the way you want, when you want.
If you were to die today, are you confident that everything will be taken care of the way you wanted? Estate planning is legally ensuring that things will be handled the way you want by providing sufficient instructions.
Estate Planning really is for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you have $40,000 or $400,000. It doesn’t matter if you’re 30 or 95. You still have to plan for the future, whether it is to name a guardian for your minor children, to ensure that your children don’t blow through your assets if you unexpectedly die or become disabled, or to protect your children’s inheritance from unexpected creditors.
Estate planning can only be done by an attorney, and it can be as simple as a will, living will and power of attorney. It can also include a revocable, probate-avoidance trust, asset protection trust, multi-generational tax-saving trust, tax-saving charitable trust, private family foundation – the list goes on based on your unique needs.
Once completed, your estate plan should be reviewed and kept current with life events such as the birth, death, marriage or divorce of anyone included in your plan. In addition, you should review your plan if there is a significant increase or decrease in your finances or if the laws related to your estate plan change.
Do I Need A Will?
If you own assets in your name alone, they may pass from you to the people you love, as long as you leave a will. Without a will, your assets pass according to the rules according to the Commonwealth of Virginia, also known as intestacy.
Does a will bypass the courts and the probate process?
No, actually, it is quite the opposite. A will is a “ticket to probate,” meaning that upon your passing, your will is submitted to the Circuit Court where you resided before your death to be proved and recorded. An executor or administrator will be named (typically the person you list in your will), and your assets and personal property will be distributed in accordance with your will. It is important that your will is clear and up-to-date; otherwise, someone could contest the validity of the will, which can be extremely costly for your estate, and ultimately results in your loved ones getting much less than you intended.
If I have a will, does everything pass through it to be distributed to my loved ones?
No, not everything passes through a will. In fact, many things pass outside of the will, including your payable on death (POD) or transfer on death (TOD) accounts, life insurance policies, and anything you own jointly with someone else where there is a right of survivorship or anything you own in a tenancy by the entirety. For instance, if you and your spouse are both joint owners of a bank account, upon your death, your bank account will simply pass to your spouse, and never passes through your will.
If I have a clearly written, up-to-date will, am I “all set”?
Maybe…and maybe not. It depends entirely upon your situation, but in most cases, a will by itself is not sufficient to completely protect your family from the unforeseen. You should know that...
- You can reduce your estate tax liability by using a trust in a will.
- If you have a young child who may inherit from you, creating a trust in your will can significantly reduce the attorney’s fees, court costs, and time required to appoint a proper Conservator for your child’s inheritance.
- Creating a trust in your will can protect your designees from creditors, divorce, or becoming disqualified from state and federal benefits (this includes college loans).
- You can protect disabled beneficiaries by creating a supplemental needs trust for them, which preserves assets for the family, while keeping their eligibility for public benefits.
