If you care about who gets your assets upon your death, then you need an estate plan which directs the administrator to distribute or manage your assets as you prefer. If you want to minimize the Federal tax burden on your estate then you need the help of an attorney who is experienced in legally avoiding taxes on your estate.
Your assets may go the State of MI if you have not provided for another distribution to the heirs of your choice. The size of your estate will largely determine where the assets may go without an estate plan. The bulk of your estate may be financial, but you may have several items of value which you want to be given to certain people or charities. You can only be sure of this happening if you plan for it to happen. Your marital home may go directly to your spouse, but if the deed isn’t written correctly, it may not.
Often, parents want to provide for their child or children to attend college. However, it would not be prudent to give the child a lot of money upon your death and expect them to manage it properly. You can appoint an administrator to manage these and other asset distributions so the children receive money to go to & college and pay the bills that need to be paid when they are due. The Estate Planning Lawyer in Jenison can structure a trust which will ensure that college funds are properly spent.
You may have a sick child or spouse who needs ongoing care. The administrator will manage the funds in the estate so these bills will be paid.
An estate plan can be comprised of a living trust or an irrevocable trust. The state planning lawyer in Jenison can describe the details and benefits of each trust. They are very different in that the living trust, sometimes called the living will, provides for you to change the provisions as you wish, and at any time. The irrevocable trust is a trust which you cannot change except under very strict circumstances.
