Most people in Georgia recognize the importance of the estate planning process. However, in the hustle of life, it is easy to put the task off for another day. Even once a plan is created, it likely needs to be updated periodically to ensure that changing laws and goals are addressed. Working with an experienced professional can often help people ensure that the estate administration and probate process is as smooth as possible for surviving loved ones.
Additionally, there are certain steps that people can take to help ensure that their wishes are reflected in their plan and can be met following their death. First, understanding the overall state of an estate can help with planning. Taking an accurate look at the value of the estate can ensure that adequate plans are made in regard to the administration of the estate.
Ensuring that an estate plan is shared with children can also be beneficial. It may be a difficult conversation for some. However, explaining plans to beneficiaries and giving them the opportunity to ask questions can help them understand the reasoning behind a person’s decisions and fully realize what the person’s wishes are.
There are several other decisions that could make the estate administration and probate process more complicated than necessary. Discussing the importance of leaving assets in a trust and picking a capable administrator of an estate, for example, could ultimately help a person creating an estate plan fully understand the implications of what he or she could initially view as relatively insignificant. Because of the impact of these decisions, many in Georgia hire an experienced attorney to help them.
Source: bizjournals.com, “Avoid these 7 estate planning mistakes“, David Heilich, June 26 2017
