Why Do You Need an Estate Plan?

Admittedly, no one enjoys contemplating their own death, but if you chose to delay or avoid planning for this event you run the very real risk of not ensuring that your loved ones and other intended beneficiaries receive what you hope to bestow upon them after your death. The costs of an estate being submitted to probate can quickly accumulate as a result of extensive administrative costs, unnecessary levying of taxes and, unfortunately, the potential for increased litigation amongst disputing family members. Having a sound, though-out estate plan is essential to avoiding this potentially complex and difficult situation. An estate planning attorney can aid in creating an estate plan.

Planning along these lines, while possibly unpleasant, allows you, while living, to ensure that your property goes to those who you wish, how you wish and in the time and manner that you wish. Having such a plan allows your estate to be distributed without the heightened costs associated with increased taxes, lawyer’s fees and court costs.

The most basic estate plan must include two documents: your Durable Power of Attorney and your Will. The former manages the financial affairs and decisions of your life should you become unable to do so on your own, while you are still living. The latter manages the organized distribution of your real and personal assets after your death. More complex estate plans deal with the finer details of people’s lives. An example of such specialized instruments would be the Advance Medical Directive. This is a legal instrument (or a collection of legal instruments including possibly including a health care proxy, a durable power of attorney for healthcare, a living will, and medical instructions) that can lay out your personal choices regarding potentially life and death decisions, as well as appoint the person you chose to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are not able to do so.

The remaining common legal instrument for more complex estate planning is the trust. A trust is an arrangement whereby one person or institution serves as trustee and holds legal title to property on behalf of others, commonly called beneficiaries. The most often cited benefit of establishing a trust is its value in helping an estate avoid the earlier discussed costs and complexities of probate. This is because any property that is held in trust passes to the beneficiaries upon the death of the trust donor, and does not become part of the estate applicable to probate. There exist other types of trusts that assist in minimizing or structuring future tax liabilities to the estate or trust beneficiaries.

There are many types of trusts, all falling into two fundamental categories: Inter vivos and testamentary. An inter vivos trust starts during the life of the donor and it exists and operates during that same lifetime. A testamentary trust only springs into being once the donor dies. Trusts can like wise be revocable (living trusts) or irrevocable, with the main difference being that in a revocable trust the donor maintains complete control over the trust assets up until his death.

About us

A little about us. BFD Lawyers is a general practice law firm based out of New Mexico. The law firm has offices in Albuquerque, and Los Lunas. The law firm was created by three young attorneys that utilize technology to provide cost-efficient, yet effective legal service. The attorneys write articles on legal subjects and issues they face as they practice law. The practice of law brings with it questions that many would find interesting. Our attorneys practice in many areas of law including bankruptcy, business law, criminal defense, estate planning, family law, personal injury, probate, and taxes. Feel free to contact the Albuquerque Lawyers today.

BFD Lawyers was established in May of 2011 by a couple of lawyers seeking to offer New Mexicans with excellent legal counsel at reasonable prices. BFD Lawyers is composed of 3 lawyers, all given birth to and raised in New Mexico; all three attorneys graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law. Additionally, the lawyers have substantial small business experience, because they have collectively held about a dozen businesses between them. The attorneys all consider themselves problem solvers first and foremost; we know that sometimes legal complications can be resolved without having to file a court action.

A small explanation of a few of the legal topics we cover are found below, however our website has more details:Down below is a explanation of a few of the subjects of law we practice in; we put up a lot more information on our web page pertaining to many of these types of subjects.

Business Law-- Our attorneys have extensive business experience both from running various organizations and academic concentration in business affiliated topics. Business law can generally be broken down into a number of groups, but frequent business law projects include contract analysis and composing, commercial litigation, and entity formation. Along with common business law issues, our attorneys are specialists in nonprofit creation and application for tax exempt status.

Nonprofit creation and operations-- Creation of a charity starts with submitting articles of incorporation with the secretary of whatever state the nonprofit chooses. Normally individuals creating a charity decide to incorporate under the laws of the state in which they will operate.

Company Formation-- Legal counsel can certainly help in the creation of various types of business entity. Creating an entity to carry out business through has positive aspects that a lawyer can advise about. Typically a limited liability company can be functional for many different types of businesses. Just like nonprofits, a limited liability company or a corporation is simply formed byfiling with the correct secretary of state. The organization also needs to adopt bylaws or an operating agreement; or else the company would be governed by the default governing plan created by state statute. An Albuquerque business lawyer can help you build the best suited documents to fit your organization's requirements.

Business attorneys are frequently desired right after a person has suffered legal difficulties. Business Law firms are usually best employed to avoid troubles from occuring, since many legal difficulties encountered are of the sort that may have been averted. Most attorneys that practice in business law share this belief, and consequently point out theimportance of hiring legal counsel from the beginning of the organization. For more info about business law and additional areas we practice, see our webpage.