Don’t just take care of your stuff. Take care of your family. 

What is an estate plan?An estate plan is a comprehensive plan for continuing your affairs to a safe stopping point upon your death, providing for persons to whom you have a responsibility, and distributing your property and assets according to your wishes. A will is only ONE part of a good estate plan.

What is included in an estate plan besides my will?  A complete estate plan may include one or more of these instruments as well as your will:
• Durable power of attorney
• Medical power of attorney
• Life insurance policies
• Business succession plan
• Living will
• Special needs trust (see article below for more on this)
• Living trust
• Asset transfer documents
• Beneficiary and payable-on-death designations
• Miscellaneous instructions for your executor

Do I really need all that? An 18 year old single person with no dependents and no real assets other than a bank account may not need a complete estate plan. But your need for a comprehensive plan increases substantially with the acquisition of these items:
• Children
• A business
• Ownership of intellectual property, including copyrights and patents – even if they are not making any money right now.  This includes most musicians, novelists, photographers and artists.
• A home
• Other real property, such as land or rental properties
• Investments such as stocks and bonds
• Ex-spouses
• Stepchildren
• Life partners to whom you are not married
• Family members who do not get along
• Substantial amounts of money in the bank 

 

Songwriters and Authors  May Need Special Planning

If you make money from copyright royalties, or if you own copyrights that may one day become lucrative, you need to specifically include those in your will.  You also may not have the right to dispose of some rights, for some copyrights, so you'll need to account for that in your estate planning.

 How often should I revise my will and estate plan? Time marches on. An estate plan will probably evolve over time, and should be reviewed to ensure it still meets your needs whenever the following occur:
• Any of your beneficiaries die
• New people should be named in your will (as in a birth or adoption).
• Divorce or marriage – of you or any of your beneficiaries
• If there are new state laws affecting your estate planning documents, or if you move to a new state
• If you need to change guardian, executor, or trustee designations
• Children reach the age of eighteen
• A substantial increase or decrease in the value of your estate
• The acquisition or disposition of a significant asset
• If you are close to age 70 1/2 years of age and have an IRA, 401(k), or other qualified plan that requires you to begin to take distributions at age 701/2.
• Every four years, no matter what.

 Does the will drafting software that came with my bookeeping package make a valid will?  Valid, probably, although every state has slightly different requirements.  Right for you? Very possibly not. What you don't get with will drafting software is anyone to explain your options and to make sure that your goals will be met.  An Austin, Texas lawyer or attorney that regularly does estate planning will make a big difference in your level of confidence that your wishes will be carried out and that your loved ones will be protected.

 

 

Call or email to arrange a consultation:
pparker@parkercounsel.com
(512) 804-9934