Many people think of tax planning when they hear the phrase “estate planning.” However, the reality is that at its core, estate planning is about taking care of yourself and those you love. The amount of wealth you have or taxes you can save is secondary to other considerations such as ensuring your loved ones are taken care of in the case of unexpected life events, making sure you will be cared for if you are no longer able to care for yourself, and providing a legacy of love and purpose for when you are gone.
Your Estate Plan is your written instruction for what happens when you are no longer able to care for yourself or control your own assets, through disability or death. If you want to control how things are handled for the rest of your life and after your death, you must have your own estate plan. Your lawyer will help ensure the legal language in that writing is such that it will make your instructions legally enforceable. Absent an estate plan, the law of the state controls what happens and that rarely aligns with what you really want. Your instructions will protect and provide for you, your spouse or partner, children, pets, assets, goals, and legacy.
At Littleton Legal, we call estate planning “happy law.” Why? Because we have the privilege of spending our days protecting our clients and their families, creating legacies, and benefiting charities. We are happy when we know we’ve done everything we can to help your family thrive, and we believe this will make you happy too.
We invite you to contact us to learn more about how estate planning can work for you.