Wealth is not the only thing at stake with estate planning.
You make a modest living.
You wake up every day.
You go to work.
You pay your bills.
You feed your family.
You save what you can.
You are not wealthy.
Surely, you can avoid estate planning.
Right?
According to a recent Investopedia article titled “4 Reasons Estate Planning Is So Important,” this could not be further from the truth.
Your estate plan will look different than a plan for a super wealthy CEO, but you should have one.
Why?
You will want to choose your beneficiaries.
You have worked hard.
You have been intentional with your finances.
Chances are you do not want someone else deciding who gets your hard-earned assets when you die.
To take control of your asset distribution you will need an estate plan.
You will want to protect your children.
Do you have minor children?
Have you thought about what will happen to them if you die?
Who will rear them?
How will they be reared?
You will need an estate plan to name a guardian for your children should both you and your spouse die.
Without this, a judge will pick the backup parents for them without any input from you.
You will want to minimize taxes.
Without proper planning, you could leave your loved ones with significant tax bills.
While neither Kansas nor Missouri has an estate or inheritance tax, a goodly number of states do.
An experienced estate planning attorney can help you reduce or eliminate estate or inheritance taxes.
You may even be able to reduce income taxes owed by your loved ones on the assets they receive.
You will want to leave your family in peace.
You lack of an estate plan can even cause family feuds.
If you become incapacitated, you can appoint persons of your own choosing to act as agents on your behalf financially and medically.
With protections and directions in place, you will minimize opportunities for your loved ones to fight.
Estate planning is not only for the wealthy.
It is for those who want to protect everyone they love and everything they have.
Reference: Investopedia (May 25, 2018) “4 Reasons Estate Planning Is So Important”
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