Estate planning enables you to provide for the future of your loved ones. You want to ensure that they can gain maximum benefit from the assets you have gathered over the years. The process enables you to do so, and to ensure that your estate is administered properly.
It is also essential to ensure the future growth of the assets in your estate, and to protect the assets in it. Estate planning provides you with an opportunity to analyse your financial status. It makes it possible to minimise tax exposure and costs related to the management of your financial wealth. Estate planning also helps to create the necessary liquidity in order to pay for the liabilities associated with a deceased estate, including capital gains tax, executor’s fees, and estate duty.
It would be sad to leave several assets for your children if they can never have the full benefit because you failed to make sufficient provision for liabilities, such as tax, estate duty, and executor’s fees. They may end up with almost nothing, and the hard work you have put in throughout your life to leave them something of value will then be for nothing.
Estate planning should not be a once-off process. Your financial status changes throughout your life. As such, regular reviewing of the plan and your will is essential to ensure maximum protection of assets, legal enforceability, and optimal growth of the assets. Be sure to review the plan and your will whenever there has been a change in the assets, your legal status, marital status, or family.
Review the estate plan if you have bought a new business, or if there has been a change in legislation. Also, do so when a new family member is welcomed, such as a grandchild, or when one of the beneficiaries in your will has passed away. Do so when there has been a change in your financial situation, or when you want to sell an asset that you have bequeathed to a beneficiary in your will. Indeed, do annual reviews of the estate plan to ensure it is up to date and relevant to your current situation.
Where to Get Professional Assistance
Do not rely on the guidance of family members or friends. Indeed, you want to ensure the legal enforceability of your will. As such, seek professional assistance from attorneys experienced in the drafting of wills, contesting of such, estate planning, and setting up of trusts. Get in touch with our team of lawyers to ensure your financial legacy is protected.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Call on our attorneys for legal advice, rather than relying on the information herein to make any decisions. The information is relevant to the date of publishing.