(512) 575-2666 | Extension 1 English | Extension 2 Spanish | Extension 3 Chinese jeanie.z@springdalelaw.com

Struggle Without Estate Planning – Emily and Her Father’s Story 

Emily lives with her father. Their family is not particularly rich and doesn’t have many assets. Emily’s father was hospitalized following a car accident and is incapacitated. Because Emily’s father chose to “save money” by not having estate planning, there is no provision that will allow Emily to access his bank accounts, which are in his name only.

Emily has to struggle to attempt to pay the bills and incur debts while she goes to the court to have them appoint a conservator for her father’s assets. The process of naming a conservator is costly and time-consuming, and Emily had to take on significant debt to keep the family afloat with house payment and bills while the conservator was named. Her father’s money “saved” by not setting up estate planning which provided a path for Emily to access his bank accounts if her father was incapacitated and more was spent by having to name a conservator.

The Importance of Estate Planning

Through her experience, Emily realized the importance of estate planning. Her father’s failure to protect his assets left their family vulnerable and struggling. This made Emily vow to take action to ensure that she and her own family would never face a similar situation.

Conclusion

Emily’s experience highlights the importance of estate planning and taking steps to protect your assets. Unexpected things happen all the time. Having a plan, at least a simple plan, is better than no plan. 

By putting an estate plan in place sooner, you can:

  1. Protect assets and  your family when accident happens without a sign; 
  2. Can avoid costly and time-consuming legal processes;
  3. Ensure that your family is taken care of in the event of incapacitation or death. 

It’s common to think “I don’t have many assets, so I don’t need estate planning.” This is absolutely false. No matter how much or how little you have in your bank account and how many or few properties or assets you own, estate planning is always a necessary and helpful tool to aid your family and loved ones in times of incapacity or loss. 

Invitation from Springdale Law Group

Springdale Law Group specializes in designing a comprehensive estate plan to protect your family’s happiness and future. As a comprehensive estate planning firm, our team is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Spanish. And can assist you with wealth management and estate planning in all 50 states. Let us help you create advanced arrangements to provide security and peace of mind to your family. Pay one price and get all of the following:

1) A Living Trust

All assets which have deeds or titles (such as properties or vehicles) as well as bank accounts will be transferred to a living trust so that upon death they are automatically transferred to beneficiaries without the time or expense of probate. For married couples this will include a Marital Trust such that the assets will pour over to surviving spouses and then beneficiaries. Trusts may be secured with Clayton Exemptions or Lifetime Asset Protection to provide additional protections for your loved ones. 

2) A Will

All other assets will be given via a will. For married couples, this includes one will for each spouse.

3) Durable Power of Attorney

This allows a spouse or other loved one to be able to make legal and financial decisions for you when you are incapacitated or after your death.

4) Advanced Medical Directive

This allows a spouse or other loved one to be able to make medical decisions for you when you are incapacitated.

5) Disposition Instructions

This allows your spouse or loved ones to know of your plans for your remains following your death. 

6) Asset Protection Plan

This lists your assets for your loved ones so that they can more easily locate assets and take action if needed. 

7) Individual Protection Package

This protects minors or adult children with special needs by providing individuals who can care for them and helps name interim and permanent guardians in the event of your incapacity or decease. 

And don’t worry about your documents getting out of date as Springdale Law will go over your documents with you every 3 years to keep them up to date.