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Estate planning is critical for people at various asset levels

On Behalf of | Aug 9, 2018 | Estate Planning |

A mistake that many owners of assets in Florida make is thinking that only the super wealthy need to plan financially for death while other people do not. The truth is that estate planning is valuable for everybody no matter how much or how little he or she owns. Here is a glimpse at what makes estate planning so critical across the board.

All states, including Florida, have intestacy laws in place. These laws essentially dictate how people’s money and other forms of property will be passed on to others when the estate owner dies. Based on these laws, people’s estates typically pass to their closest living relatives. These may include, for example, their spouses, children, parents or siblings.

The laws go on to detail how property must be divided among surviving loved ones. For instance, they spell out what surviving spouses might receive from an estate compared with what the surviving children can expect to get. Of course, no everybody wants his or her assets distributed in the manner that the law dictates, which is why putting together a will is paramount.

A will basically explains where people’s assets will go when they die. However, these legal documents are also valuable for parents who have young children, as they can include in their wills who they want to receive guardianship of the children if both parents die at the same time. Taking estate planning seriously is a smart move considering that death can happen when people least expect it. An attorney in Florida can help people both young and old, rich and not-so-rich, to put together wills that are in their best interests as well as in the best interests of their loved ones long term.

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