At Hughes Legacy Law PLLC, we understand that defining your estate plan can be arduous at both an emotional and financial level. For those starting to plan for the first time, it is especially difficult as it marks the admission of our collective mortality. It is particularly challenging to think about it when you do not intend to need a plan for many years.
With this in mind, it is never too early to get established with an estate planning attorney who can help your plan grow with you. In fact, we have found that the earlier our clients connect with us, we are able to reduce the anxiety and mystery of the planning process so it is ready when you need it. To ensure the future of your family and estate is secure well in advance, reach out to our firm today to see how we can best help navigate you toward your desired outcome.
3 Benefits of Hiring an Estate Planning Attorney
An estate attorney is there to listen and guide you through the drafting process, developing a detailed, professional, and defensible plan that best fits the needs of you and your family for years to come. Although drafting your documents through an automated document service or online form may seem like a low-budget option and a great start, we have found working with an experienced attorney is more beneficial for the following reasons:
Up-To-Date Documentation
The legislature is regularly updated by the court system, leaving it up to our team of skilled professionals to stay up-to-date and advise our clients accordingly. We will ensure all of your documentation meets the newest regulations in order to reflect current tax law and keep your wishes defensible in court.
As one ages, naturally, the provisions of their life and surroundings change. Your documentation should be adjusted every two-to-three years to accommodate that. Common areas in which you may need to adjust wishes and provisions include:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Birth of children or grandchildren
- Ages of children
- Inheritance
- Major property purchases
- Starting or selling a business
- Retirement
Are you and your identified guardians and trustees still comfortable with the process? Working in tandem with an estate planning attorney ensures you have a caring and knowledgeable professional to guarantee your documentation reflects your current circumstances and adheres to current state and federal regulations and tax law.
Professionally Drafted
Following a templated planning document online can be a fine introduction to the world of estate planning, but you are often given little room for modification or personalization. They will often only cater to the most basic of nuclear family-style living situations, where all assets and property are first distributed to your spouse and then to the surviving children. With the assistance of an attorney, you are able to fully tailor all wishes and desired beneficiaries in a professionally drafted plan. Without the imposed restrictions of a premade document, considerations to a charity organization or new routes of asset distribution can be accommodated easily.
Hughes Legacy Law PLLC will help tailor your wishes to your specific circumstances and more easily adjust as your life changes. Our experience has shown that documents prepared by an attorney are more detailed and personal than fill-in-the-blank type documents and ensure your wishes are defensible and up to the most current standards at a federal and state level.
Continued Resource For Loved Ones
When the time comes for the distribution of all assets and property, your family and friends will go through a probate period. Formally, the administrative probate period can last from six months to up to two years, depending on the complexity of the estate and whether or not your documentation is up to current state and federal laws. When you partner with Hughes Legacy Law PLLC, you are allowing yourself the luxury of a team who will continue to be a valuable resource for your surviving loved ones, help defend your wishes, and minimize the risk of family conflict.
Consult a Professional Estate Planning Attorney Today
When your estate plan is first written, it’s often an uncomplicated and modest endeavor detailing the control and distribution of assets amongst immediate family. Consider Hughes Legacy Law PLLC a tool to help listen to your specific wishes, requests, and desires and advise accordingly. We understand the process is possibly unfamiliar and confusing, and with our constantly-updated knowledge and skills, a personalized and appropriate plan will begin to take shape.
To begin the planning process today, please call (703) 977-1139 or fill out our online contact form.
