Perhaps the best gift you can get your mother (and yourself) for Mother’s Day is an estate plan. I tell my clients that it is their responsibility to make sure that their parents have estate plans. Why? Because when your parent dies, as the child, you (and your siblings) will have to organize and wrap up their affairs. You can make your job much easier and you can save a lot of money by making sure that they have a well thought out estate plan.
Estate planning does not just mean preparing a will. A good estate attorney will not only prepare a will, but will also help you decide which property should pass outside of probate by way of transfer on death designations and can prepare a living will, power of attorney and health care power of attorney in the event that the testator becomes incompetent or incapacitated.
Transfer on death designations are viewed as an easy way to save money and time because they give the beneficiaries immediate access to those assets rather than having to wait for a distribution through the probate court; however, transfer on death designations are not right for all people and all property and legal counsel should be sought before filling out any TOD paperwork.
Estate planning can keep family assets in the family in several ways. You can express your wishes about how your assets should be divided after you are no longer able to make that determination by having a will prepared. When the decedent’s wishes are expressed in a will, family members are less likely to fight over how the assets should be divided. This will cut down on attorney’s fees and court costs that would arise if there were a dispute. In addition, a testator can ask that the court waive a bond which can be costly depending on how large the estate is. TOD designations are difficult to contest successfully and any assets transferred by TOD will go to the beneficiaries regardless of whether someone contests the testate or intestate distribution in probate court.
Estate planning will not only make your life easier if the worst should happen, but it will also give your parents peace of mind that they didn’t have before; something that every parent deserves.
