When most people hear “estate planning,” they picture wealthy people sitting around a mahogany table discussing the family fortunes. Maybe there’s cigars involved. Maybe someone says, “The lake house goes to Gerald.”
For most people, estate planning is much less dramatic and much more practical. It’s simply planning for what happens to your property, finances, and healthcare if you die or become unable to make decisions for yourself.
And you don’t have to be rich to need a plan. In fact, one of the most important parts of estate planning basics is understanding that nearly everyone can benefit from having one.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Do?
An estate plan should answer a few important questions:
- Who gets your property?
- Who handles your finances if you can’t?
- Who makes healthcare decisions if you’re unable to make them?
- If you have children, who do you want making decisions for them?
Having a clear plan helps your family understand your wishes. Additionally, if a plan is set up correctly, it minimizes or eliminates the risk that your estate has to go through probate.
Probate is a legal process with the courts that is used to transfer a deceased person’s property, pay their debts, and distribute what remains to the appropriate people. A good estate plan helps bypass probate entirely, allowing your loved ones to process and grieve without court involvement.
Estate Planning: Not Just a Will
One misconception is that writing a will means you’re done with estate planning. Not true, unfortunately; estate planning isn’t just about what happens after you’re gone. It also helps decide what happens while you’re still here.
A will is just one part of thorough estate planning. It explains how you want certain property distributed after your death, nominates someone to handle your estate, and identifies someone to care for your underage children.
However, a will doesn’t address everything that can happen during your lifetime. A power of attorney, for example, appoints someone you trust to handle financial and property matters if you’re unable to do so.
A healthcare directive is another important part of an estate planning guide. It allows you to provide instructions about your healthcare and designate someone to make healthcare decisions for you if you can’t make them yourself.
When Should You Update Your Estate Plan?
Here’s another important part of any estate planning guide: your plan should change when your life changes, including:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- The birth or adoption of a child
- The death of someone named in your documents
- A significant change in your finances
- A move
Divorce Estate Planning
Divorce estate planning deserves special attention—you don’t want an old plan from 15 years ago making decisions for your life today, especially when kids are involved. The majority of beneficiary designations are nullified by law when a divorce is finalized, so estate planning for divorce includes altering your beneficiary designation and reviewing your will, power of attorney, trusts, and other documents to make sure they still reflect your wishes.
At Toepfer at Law, we specialize in helping people thoroughly review and update their estate planning guides after divorce, including:
- Updating your will
- Updating your beneficiaries
- Updating your power of attorney
- Updating your health care directive
Get Help Estate Planning from an Attorney in St. Cloud, MN
The hardest part of estate planning basics is often knowing where to start, but that’s where an estate planning attorney in St. Cloud, MN, can help. At Toepfer at Law, we provide estate planning services as part of our goal to help Minnesotans navigate important legal transitions, including divorce estate planning. We work with families to understand their options and create plans that make sense for their actual lives—whether or not there’s a lake house involved.
Contact Toepfer at Law to schedule a consultation with an estate planning attorney St. Cloud, MN.