Beyond the Will: Enhancing Your Estate Plan to Meet Specific Needs
Meeting Your Unique Estate Planning NeedsIn the realm of estate planning, a last will and testament is a fundamental document, serving as the cornerstone of many individuals' plans. However, it's essential to understand that while a will is a necessary component, it often falls short in addressing specific, unique needs that you may have when it comes to preserving and distributing your assets. Your estate plan should be tailored to reflect your individual circumstances, ensuring that your wishes are met precisely. Let's explore some situations where relying solely on a will may not suffice and why considering additional estate planning tools is crucial.
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Providing for a Child with Special Needs
If you have a child with special needs who relies on government assistance programs, an inheritance from a standard will could jeopardize their eligibility. Special needs trusts are a powerful tool that allows you to allocate funds for their benefit while ensuring they retain eligibility for essential assistance programs.
Unequal Distribution Among Children or Disinheriting a Child
In some cases, you may wish to divide your assets unequally among your children. Perhaps one child requires more financial assistance than others, or you want to recognize differing life circumstances. Utilizing a trust can enable you to distribute your assets in a manner that aligns with your intentions.
While a challenging decision, there may also be circumstances where you wish to disinherit a child. To prevent potential legal challenges and ensure your wishes are honored, specifying the disinheritance in a legally binding way within your estate plan is advisable.
While a challenging decision, there may also be circumstances where you wish to disinherit a child. To prevent potential legal challenges and ensure your wishes are honored, specifying the disinheritance in a legally binding way within your estate plan is advisable.
Managing Unique Family Properties
Family properties, such as a vacation home or historical estate, often hold immense sentimental value. However, they can also lead to disputes among heirs. Establishing a trust that outlines detailed management and ownership instructions can help preserve the property's integrity and prevent conflicts.
Blended Family Situations
In blended families, ensuring that assets are distributed as intended can be complex. Without proper planning, your assets may not end up where you intended, potentially causing family strife. Trusts can be used to safeguard your assets and provide for your current spouse while preserving inheritances for your children from previous marriages.
Spousal Inheritance
What many people don't know is that a surviving spouse is entitled to a percentage of the probate estate, regardless of what your will says. We have seen spouses set up generous legacies for each other through the use of non probate assets, such as trusts and use the will to distribute all remaining assets to other heirs. With the required spousal share of the probate assets, however, these plans can be upended.
Estate Tax and Long-Term Care Considerations
High estate taxes and the cost of long-term care can significantly diminish the assets you pass on to your heirs. Trusts and other estate planning tools can help mitigate these financial burdens, allowing your loved ones to benefit more fully from your legacy.
Conclusion
In summary, while a last will and testament is a vital part of your estate plan, it's essential to recognize its limitations in addressing specific needs. You can read some examples of situations where a will is not necessarily enough here.
By considering additional estate planning tools like trusts, you can ensure that your individual circumstances, unique family dynamics, and desired asset distribution are all accounted for. Consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney is a valuable step in tailoring your estate plan to meet your precise needs and secure your legacy as you envision it.
By considering additional estate planning tools like trusts, you can ensure that your individual circumstances, unique family dynamics, and desired asset distribution are all accounted for. Consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney is a valuable step in tailoring your estate plan to meet your precise needs and secure your legacy as you envision it.
Meet Our Estate Planning Lawyers
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year.
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna wrote a book on estate planning: The Road to Peace of Mind: What You Need to Know About Estate Planning. Jenna has helped many individuals and families with planning to protect their legacies and loved ones, and planning for the future and succession of their businesses.
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and earned her LLM in estate planning from Western New England Scool of Law in 2016. She has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped many clients with planning for their legacies and their future, and navigating the probate process in Massachusetts after the death of a loved one.
How We Can Help
Our experienced estate planning attorney can guide you in creating a personalized estate plan, utilizing trusts and specialized tools to address specific needs such as providing for special needs children, managing family properties, and minimizing estate taxes. You can use the button below to schedule a free information call, or simply give us a call at 781-784-2322.
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