Our team at GPS Law Group provides a wide variety of legal services, and one of those services is estate planning. If you are unfamiliar with this term, estate planning involves preparing documents that will dictate what happens to a person’s assets in the event that they pass away or become incapacitated, and it can also include plans for emergency or end-of-life care.
While many people assume that they have plenty of time to get these affairs in order, the unfortunate reality is that no one knows what will happen to them, and because of that, it’s wise to start the estate planning process early. In this article, we’ll go over a few reasons why it is never too soon to start planning your estate.
- Choose Your Beneficiaries- One reason to start the estate planning process early is because it will allow you to choose your own beneficiaries (the people or organizations that will receive your belongings) and therefore keep your assets from going to anyone else. If you pass away without a will or estate plan, the court will decide how to divide up your assets, and its decisions may be very different than the ones you would have made.
- Reduce Your Family’s Tax Burden- Another reason to start estate planning as soon as possible is because having a plan in place will protect your loved ones from heavy tax burdens in the event of your passing. We will work with your tax advisors to incorporate their tax advice into your estate planning documents.
- Prevent Conflict- A third reason to have an estate plan in place as early as possible is to nip potential conflicts in the bud. Even very close families whose members love each other dearly can disagree over inheritance, and the arguments that ensue can get very ugly. By making a clear plan, you remove at least some of the ammunition for such battles, as no one will be able to claim to speak for you if you have already made your wishes known.