Estate Lawyer Fort Collins, CO

Estate Lawyer Fort Collins, CO

If you want to establish an estate plan, you should speak to William B. Moore, an estate lawyer in Fort Collins, CO. A lawyer can help you create a valid plan that clearly states your final wishes. 

Why You Should Have an Estate Plan

Many people put off estate planning because they think they’re too young or don’t have enough assets yet. This is a big mistake. Here are several reasons why you should have an estate plan.

• It Will Financially Protect Your Family: You don’t have to be super wealthy to need an estate plan. If you’re the breadwinner of your family, you want to protect them if something should happen to you. If you have an estate plan, you will have peace of mind knowing that your assets will be passed onto your family and they won’t be left empty handed.

• Your Children Will Be Taken Care Of: If you have minor children, you have another important reason to create an estate plan. While it’s unpleasant to think about, life can be unpredictable. If you die unexpectedly, you want someone responsible and trustworthy to look after your kids. To ensure this, don’t forget to designate a legal guardian in your will.

• It Can Reduce Family Conflicts: The last thing you want is for your family members to turn against each other after you’re gone. Unfortunately, however, this can occur in families. If one sibling, for example, believes he or she should get more than everyone else, fights can happen. If you designate who you want to inherit what in an estate plan, you can minimize the risk of this happening. An estate lawyer in Fort Collins, CO can help you with this.

• It Can Reduce Estate Taxes: When you’re gone, you don’t want estate taxes to eat up a large portion of your estate. You want your beneficiaries to receive what you originally intended, after all. If you put an estate plan together, you can reduce these taxes.
• It Can Appoint a Healthcare Proxy: If you should become physically or mentally incapacitated during your lifetime, you want someone you trust to make medical decisions on your behalf. That’s another good reason to have an estate plan in place. You will be able to appoint an agent with power of attorney for healthcare who will carry out your wishes regarding healthcare.

If you’re ready to establish an estate plan, you should contact William B. Moore, an estate lawyer in Fort Collins, CO. We offer free consultations after business hours and by Zoom to accommodate your schedule.

How to Prepare for Your First Meeting with an Estate Planning Lawyer

If you want to establish an estate plan, it’s important to have an experienced planning lawyer on your side. A lawyer will make sure your estate plan follows the law in your state and says what you intend it to say. Here are a few tips for preparing for your first meeting with an estate planning lawyer.

• Gather your documents. The first thing you need to do is organize relevant documents that provide information about your assets. You do not want to arrive at the meeting empty handed. Examples of relevant documents include bank statements, life insurance policies, retirement account documentation, real estate deeds and beneficiary designations. Consider making digital copies of everything, so you have backups.

• Fill out the online forms. Many estate planning law firms give their clients forms to fill out prior to the initial consultation. Remember to fill these forms out online before you go to your meeting. Then, you will not have to worry about filling them out and wasting time at your meeting.

• Write down questions. Your estate planning lawyer should not be the only person asking questions during the consultation. It is also important to ask your lawyer questions about his or her experience and skills. For instance, you may want to ask how long your lawyer has been practicing estate law and how he or she charges. You may also want to find out if your lawyer conducts periodic reviews. By asking these types of questions, you can find out if a lawyer is the right person to execute your estate plan or not.

• Take notes. During your first meeting with an estate lawyer, a lot of information will get thrown your way. To avoid forgetting something important, take notes at your consultation. If your lawyer speaks too quickly or says something you do not quite understand, do not be afraid to ask for clarification. 

• Don’t be afraid to be honest. To get the most out of your meeting with an estate lawyer, it is crucial to be completely truthful. Your lawyer has likely heard it all before, so do not be embarrassed about anything. For example, if you believe that some of your heirs may start a conflict over your estate plan, you may ask your lawyer how to properly handle the situation.

What Happens If You Don’t Have an Estate Plan

Too many people procrastinate on writing their estate plan. Most of us live busy lives, we may not want to think about our own mortality, or we just aren’t sure how to get started. Just know that if you feel this way, you are not alone. But it may be time that you finally consider writing an estate plan, or updating an old one, so that your wishes after death are planned for and followed. If you don’t have all of your estate plan documents written, such as you don’t have a will, then when you die your estate may be handled by the court system instead. A judge may become in charge of reviewing your estate and the assets within them, then distributing assets to heirs based on state intestacy law. So unless you want a judge to decide what happens to your legacy, then writing an estate plan should be a priority for you.

As an estate lawyer Fort Collins, CO can explain, one of the documents in an estate plan is a will. This document contains your preferences for what you want to happen with your assets after death. It allows you to choose someone to care for minor children, however, it does not provide help in the event of your incapacitation, since a will doesn’t go into effect until after you have passed on. So even with having a will written, you don’t have a complete estate plan that covers all your needs. Furthermore, a will may not avoid probate. In fact, the court may have to verify that your will is legitimate, potentially causing them to make other changes that you would not have wanted. 

Probate is a court process that confirms your assets are distributed to heirs and debts are paid. But most people want to avoid probate with help from a Fort Collins estate lawyer if they can, and this is for several reasons. Firstly, probate can be expensive, and it can drain what is in the estate to pay for legal fees and other court costs. Secondly, probate takes time and may not conclude for a year or longer. Within this period, beneficiaries probably won’t receive their inheritance, prolonging financial assistance that family members may desperately need. Thirdly, probate is a public process, meaning that any interested party can learn more about your estate, including those who were left out as heirs. And lastly, probate can leave grieving family members even more stressed out, when they are already going through a really challenging time. 

Contact W. B. Moore Law LLC.

Most people think that estate planning is only about documents such as trusts and a will, and who will inherit your assets after your death. But estate planning with our Fort Collins lawyer estate team is about so much more than that, as it allows you to decide who will take care of you or your assets in certain situations. Your grieving family members won’t have to go through the added frustration of seeing a court judge distribute your assets in a way you would have disliked. Estate planning gives you a peace of mind that your legacy will be handled and passed down to future generations as you would have desired. Who doesn’t want that?