Estate Planning Lawyer Abingdon VA

When you need a skilled estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA residents trust, the Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt is the firm to call. An estate is defined as everything you own, including your home, car, checking and savings accounts, investments, and personal belongings. No matter the value of these assets, they all make up your estate and you should have a plan for what is to happen to everything upon your death.

Many people view estate planning as simply naming who is to receive certain belongings, however, it is much more than that. By contacting an estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA locals rely on from the Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt, we can walk you through the process to help ensure your needs and desires are clearly stated.

Have you considered speaking with an estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA trusts about your future, and the future of your family? Have you prepared for the distribution of your assets and wealth upon your incapacitation or death? Although it might be an uncomfortable subject, it is a reality an Abingdon VA estate planning lawyer will recommend that you face. By doing so, you could save your loved ones a great deal of time, stress, and money. Furthermore, you can feel peace of mind in knowing that everything is in place exactly as you want it.

Most people can benefit from having an estate plan in place, but many don’t realize the reasoning and advantages to creating one. At the Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt, you will discover experienced estate planning lawyers who can help you to secure your wishes in a comprehensive, legal estate plan. Guided by our many years of experience, we understand the laws, rules, and tax matters that apply to estates. If you would like to learn more, please call us now at 276-623-0808.

Estate Planning FAQs

We frequently receive calls from people who are looking for more information about estate planning. Many choose to talk to us in more detail during a free consultation. To have your questions answered by an experienced estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA prefers, please call 276-623-0808.

What estate planning documents should I have in place?

There are a number of legal documents that can be included in an estate plan. Often, what you need will depend on your financial and family circumstances. However, in general, you will want your estate plan to be as comprehensive as possible. This means you should consider including the following:

• Revocable Trust. Similar to a will, a revocable trust provides for the management and distribution of your assets upon your death. There are many benefits to a revocable trust over a will. For instance, this estate document will allow you to transfer assets to beneficiaries immediately without having them go through the probate process. A revocable trust can also include details on how to manage your affairs should you ever become incapacitated. Including this could help you avoid any issues with someone seeking guardianship over you. Usually your spouse is the trustee of this legal document, but you can name anyone you wish. As an estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA regularly consult will tell you, one of the greatest benefits to a revocable trust is that you can save money and time in the long run and the distribution of your assets will remain private, unlike with a will, which is public.
• Financial Power of Attorney. This names a person to conduct financial affairs on your behalf in the event you become incapacitated. Without this, someone may be required to go to court to seek guardianship, which is a costly and time-consuming process.
• Living Will. A living will is a legal document that outlines your wishes for medical treatment in case you become terminally ill, permanently unconscious, or unable to make decisions about your care.
• Beneficiary Designations. This document will address certain types of assets such as IRAs, 401ks, retirement accounts, and life insurance.
• Pour Over Will. If minor children are involved in your estate planning, a pour over will may be necessary. The primary function of this is to name and nominate a guardian, as well as to name an executor who can transfer your assets to a trust of the minor child. These can be distributed accordingly.

What Estate Planning Includes

When people think of estate planning, they normally think of making a list of who receives what and that’s the end of it, however, estate planning entails much more than that. By sitting down with an estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA families recommend, estate planning can reap the following benefits:

• Give instructions for your care if you were to become disabled;

• Name a guardian to your minor children;

• Allow for your business to be transferred;

• Provide for disabled loved ones;

• Include instructions to pass on your values instead of only your belongings;

• Minimize taxes and legal fees; and

• Be ongoing and constantly evolving.

Who Should Plan Their Estate?

There is a common misconception that only wealthy people need to go through the estate planning process to handle their assets and wealth. No matter the size of your estate, you need to have a plan for what will happen to all of your assets at the time of your death. In fact, estate planning often means the most to families with limited assets because it can help keep them from losing anything.

An estate planning lawyer in Abingdon VA knows that many people also believe you should not worry about estate planning until you are retired. However, the future is completely unknown and your plan should start as soon as you start acquiring assets. People frequently think they’re too young, they don’t have enough assets, or they believe they have plenty of time, but unfortunately, should something happen without a plan, their family would be left to make all the decisions for them. In dealing with the death of a family member, figuring out what to do with all of their belongings and assets is just another added stress they don’t need.

What if my circumstances change?

Estate planning is an important process for anyone looking to pass on their assets after they die. Many people create an estate plan and then never revise it with a trusted estate planning lawyer, in Abingdon VA This is not advisable because lives change. We grow older, we move, we make more money, we buy new things. If we don’t account for all these changes in our estate plan, our wishes for our heirs may not be met exactly as we desire. This is why it’s important to periodically review and, if necessary, update your estate plan with the support of an estate planning lawyer in Abingdon, VA.

What events should lead me to update my estate plan?

• Marriage – Once you get married, you certainly want to include your spouse in your distribution, should anything happen to you. Even if you don’t update your estate plan, spouses are entitled to a certain amount but not everything so if you want to make sure your spouse gets what you want them to get, you need to update your estate plan.
• Divorce – When you have a substantial life change such as divorce, it’s always a good idea to update your estate plan. When you got married, you may have named your spouse individually in your will. Now that you are divorced, you may not want to leave that person as much, or anything. The only way to be certain is to have an Abingdon, Virginia estate planning lawyer go over your estate plan and update it.
• Birth of a child – One of the happiest moments of any parent’s life is welcoming a child. But parents would be wise to update their estate plan. In the terrible circumstance where something happens to one or both parents, a proper estate plan can provide for a guardian for the child. If your estate plan isn’t updated to include this information, your child will be placed with your nearest relative, at the discretion of the state.

• Extreme illness – A major illness or accident could alter your life forever. This could wreak havoc on your estate plan by eating up assets or requiring care for your well being. You need to update your plan to account for these scenarios. An estate planning lawyer Abingdon, VA relies on has experience updating estate plans for every scenario.

• Financial situation change – The loss of a job, a raise, or lottery winnings are all examples of financial situation changes that require a review of your estate plan.

• Relocation – Your estate plan will be valid in every state so long as it was valid in the state where it was drafted. Nevertheless, moving is a great time to update your estate plan to account for your new house. Without a review and update by a trusted Abington, VA estate planning lawyer, your estate plan will still include your old house information for distribution.

How often should my estate plan be reviewed?

We all make plans, or we should, to visit our doctor each year to make sure we’re still healthy and catch any issues that may be on the horizon. This is a proactive approach to our health and never results in negative consequences.

The same approach should be taken for the health of your estate plan. Each year, you should review your estate plan with your Abington, VA estate planning lawyer. It’s possible you won’t need to make any changes. But many times we overlook what constitutes a change necessary of updating our estate plan. Seemingly little things can be worthy of making a change.

Did you take an exotic trip to Indonesia and came back with some artifacts you want to pass on? This would require an update to your estate plan. Without updating your estate plan, those artifacts would be distributed by your executor or personal representative who may not know your wishes.

The Consequences of Failing To Make Out a Will

As long as you are over the age of 18, it is never too early to make out a will. Unfortunately, if you put it off too long, eventually it may be too late. You could die suddenly or unexpectedly or have an accident that leaves you incapacitated and unable to make out a will. You never really know how much time you have left.

Unfortunately, over half of American adults do not have a will. It is understandable that you may not want to contemplate your own mortality, but that doesn’t make it any less inevitable. Losing a loved one is never easy, but not having a will can cause your surviving loved ones so much more difficulty when you die.

What Happens if You Die Without a Will?

The legal term for dying without a will is “intestacy.” If you die intestate, it becomes the responsibility of the court to dispose of the assets and property included in your estate. The laws of each state include provisions explaining how the court should handle your property. These provisions detail a process known as “intestate succession.”

The laws of intestate succession allow the court to distribute your assets according to a generic, predetermined hierarchy based on how people generally choose to bestow their possessions. This may seem arbitrary or unfair, but without a will, the court cannot take your wishes into consideration because they are unknowable.

What Are the Potential Negative Consequences?

How intestate succession will affect your estate depends a great deal upon where you live and your circumstances. Generally speaking, the law favors immediate family members and spouses as inheritors of your estate. This could cause difficulty if you have a domestic partner to whom you are not married. He or she does not have the same legal standing as a spouse would. As a result, your domestic partner may end up inheriting nothing if you die intestate.

Disposition of property is only one task that a will accomplishes. It also establishes a guardian/caretaker for your children and/or pets after you die. Intestacy may lead to fighting among family members and the court appointing guardians/caretakers that you deem inappropriate. Your pets may come out worse, as a result, than your kids do. Family members are likely to be willing to take on the responsibility of caring for your kids but may decide that they don’t want to be bothered with your pets and send them to a shelter.

Additionally, dying intestate can stir up a lot of fighting and hurt feelings among your surviving relatives. It is best to try to avoid this by making out a will as soon as possible. It doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated, and an estate planning lawyer may be able to help simplify it. Contact our office for a consultation.

Most people have heard of at least one horror story that involves a family being torn apart because of a dispute over inheritances. Children fighting with a stepparent over the family home, siblings fighting with one another; things can get ugly very fast. While the majority of families do not have a serious argument over an inheritance, money can bring out a different side that you might have never thought existed.

When you draw up an estate plan, your Abingdon VA estate planning lawyer might discuss whether or not a family dispute is possible. If you think it is, he or she can give you advice on how to prevent a serious dispute from arising. You can also encourage harmony among family members by taking a few simple steps.

How can I prevent a family dispute over my estate plan?

1. Carefully Choose Your Estate’s Executor: It is common for parents to automatically choose the oldest child to be the executor of the estate, even when they might not be suited to the task. Your executor should be someone who is responsible, honest, organized, patient, and a good communicator. They should also be of sound mind. In taking these steps, beneficiaries of the estate may feel more trusting of the situation and are less likely to become anxious about everything that is going on.

2. Try Avoiding Unexpected Surprises: When you create your estate plan, it may be a good idea to make your decisions known while you are alive. Sit with your family and explain to them who will get the family china, why your son will get less because you bought him a new car, and that your niece gets to choose something special, but that the piece itself won’t be specified in the will. This step can help to avoid disappointment, hurt feelings, and frustration.

3. Bear in mind that you might get some unwanted feedback or criticism for your wishes, but this should not alter the way you feel. If a beneficiary begins to coerce you to change the estate plan in any way, there is a chance that a dispute could arise. An Abingdon VA estate planning lawyer can help you to understand this during a meeting.

4. Consult with a Lawyer Whom You Trust: It is recommended to consult with an estate planning lawyer for any estate planning advice or to draft the legal documents. Even if you would like to draw up your own estate plan, a lawyer can review it to ensure everything is legally accurate. You may want to keep your client/attorney relationship independent from outside influence. For example, you may not want to have an Abingdon VA lawyer who has very different views from that of your own. You might also not want to retain a lawyer who is also your best friend.

Final tips to consider to help you avoid a family dispute:

• Talk with an estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA clients trust alone, without family members or friends
• Make sure you keep your estate plan up-to-date
• If you have significant assets, worth over $1 million, you might want to consider a living trust
• Avoid making someone the co-owner of a property or account if you intend to leave it to someone else
• Provide guidance on the distribution of sentimental items

Contact us today

The trusted team at the Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt is able to review your estate plan and how your life has changed since your estate plan was drafted. Doing so will allow us to determine if you need to update your estate plan.

Contact us today to schedule your consultation. We know we can help and we look forward to working with you.

Contact an Estate Planning Lawyer Abingdon VA Clients Depend On

No one likes to think that there will come a time when they won’t be able to make decisions for themselves. This is why many families are unprepared when an untimely death does occur. The lawyers at Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt have over 25 of years experience in estate planning. We will work hard to create a plan that will leave you and your family comfortable and protected. Your plan can be changed at any time to reflect any adjustments you would like.

Each Abingdon VA estate planning lawyer from our firm will give you guidance and answer any questions you may have to help make this process as easy as possible. Call an estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA provides at 276-623-0808 to begin planning for your future and provide yourself and your family with peace of mind.

Client Review

“10/10 very helpful. Mr. Hurt is extremely professional and helped me in every aspect. I was wrongly accused and he helped me get the case completely dismissed. Would recommend Mr. Hurt to anyone needing an attorney.”
Hunter Mckinney