The Benefits Of Hiring A Deceased Estate Lawyer
In a bid to save estate planning costs, most people opt to conduct DIY estate planning. However, this is not always a good idea. Slight oversights could lead to liabilities and penalties in the future. Below are some advantages of working with a deceased estate lawyer to plan your estate.
Legality Of Your Will
If your will does not meet the specified legal standards, it will not go through probate. Therefore, the court will consider that you died intestate (without a will). As such, your estate will be shared equally among your beneficiaries. The deceased estate lawyer will ensure that your will meets the legal requirements of your state. For example, in most Australian states, a will is considered legal if the testator was of sound mind when writing the will and signed the will in the presence of two witnesses.
Preventing Will Disputes
A lawyer can prevent will disputes among your beneficiaries. For example, the lawyer will help you update your will as your financial and personal situation changes. To do this, you could add or remove a beneficiary or increase the assets allocated to a particular beneficiary. For example, it may be that you want to leave some of your dependants out of your will. If this is the case, the lawyer will include an explanatory letter to prevent these dependents from disputing the will.
The lawyer will also ensure that the will does not contain contradicting clauses or problems. For example, there are incidences when an estate has two or more different wills. Having a deceased estate lawyer will help avoid such incidences by destroying wills that you no longer need. Besides, the lawyer could store the will at your request.
Estate Management
An experienced deceased estate lawyer will help manage your estate. For instance, before writing the will, the lawyer will appraise your estate and advise how you can increase estate returns. In this case, you could sell depreciating assets and use the proceeds to invest in appreciating assets or renovate properties. Besides, the lawyer can advise how to manage online assets such as cryptocurrencies and forex accounts to ensure your beneficiaries inherit them.
Probate
Once you die, the lawyer will assist the executor with the probate process. They will advise the executor on how to file for probate, pay estate taxes and transfer property to your beneficiaries. Further, the lawyer will make sure the executor does not mismanage the estate.
The primary benefit of hiring a deceased estates lawyer is that they will ensure that your will meets the legal standards, help you prevent will disputes and assist in estate management and the probate process. Contact a deceased estate lawyer for more information.