Probate in California - Palmdale Probate Lawyer
What's your reason for putting off estate planning? Some of the most common reasons that people give for having made no plans for the disposition of their estate include:
1. We're too young to worry about estate planning.
2. We don't have enough of an estate to think about its distribution.
3. Everything we own is in community or joint property. We won't have to worry about it.
While any of these reasons are valid ones for putting off estate planning, there are some far better reasons for making those plans now, no matter what your age. At the very least, you should speak with a Palmdale probate lawyer if you are getting married, starting a family or entering into a new relationship with a life partner. It's even more important if you have minor children and own a house, or if your estate totals over $100,000 including your house.
One of the most obvious reasons for starting your estate planning now is the uncomfortable fact that death is unpredictable. While we all want to believe that we have many happy years left, sometimes it just doesn't happen that way. If you die without a will, your family stands a strong chance of having to wait for probate before they have the use of your assets. In addition, there's the fact that not all estate planning has to do with death. Who makes decisions in the event that you're unable to make them? If you fall ill and can't tell the doctors and others where and how you want your medical treatment to be delivered, you can delegate the authority to another in advance through a living will or a medical power of attorney.
A limited or enduring power of attorney can also ensure that your financial affairs are in hands that you trust in the event that you're unable to make decisions on your own behalf. You can assign different rights to different people, so that for instance, you grant a business partner the right to make decisions regarding some assets and your domestic partner the right to make decisions regarding other assets.
There are other ways to manage and plan your estate as well, ways that are designed to ensure that the bulk of your assets are not subject to probate, or to protect certain assets from exorbitant inheritance or estate taxes.
A Palmdale Probate Attorney? can help you explore your estate planning options, no matter your age or the size of your estate. Contact a local probate lawyer to help you safeguard your choices and ensure that your wishes are carried out.
