People in Florida generally understand the importance of engaging in financial planning. However, estate planning remains an often-forgotten aspect of planning for the future financially. Here is a look at why estate planning is so important.
When people have wills, which are basic tools in estate planning, they can prevent a couple of costly mistakes. First, they can keep their assets from being improperly managed. Second, they can lose large amounts of money via unnecessary taxation on their estates. However, estate planning typically requires a lot more than having a will in place.
Other important items to include in an estate plan are the creation of a trust, life insurance and beneficiary designations. Life insurance is especially critical to address because a will generally does not govern proceeds from a life insurance policy. The same is true for benefits paid from a retirement plan.
An estate plan that is carefully prepared can help people in Florida to pursue a variety of goals. For instance, they can use their estate plans to ensure that their spouse and children are provided for financially, and they can also designate an amount of money to gift to a charity after they pass away. They can also spell out who they want to serve as the guardians of their minor children. Estate plans can even be helpful for disposing of a family business and empowering a reliable trustee and executor to invest. An attorney can help an individual to complete well-thought-out estate planning that will meet his or her long-term needs in the Sunshine State.
