Client Champion Gold 2023
Justia Badge
Avvo 10/10 Lawyer Rating
Member Wealth Counsel

Who Needs an Estate Plan?

Connor Law Firm, PLC

If you’re reading this, you need an estate plan. “Why?” you might ask. The short answer is “Everyone, age 18 and older needs an estate plan.” It doesn’t matter your age; if you’ve built up considerable wealth or if you are just entering adulthood, you need a written plan to keep you in control and to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Key Takeaways

1. Every adult, regardless of age or wealth, needs both a lifetime plan and an after-death estate plan.

2. Planning for incapacity will keep you in control and let your trusted loved ones care for you without court interference – and without the loss of control and expense of a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding.

3. Every adult needs up-to-date health care directives.

4. You need to leave written instructions to make sure you are the one who selects who’s in charge of when and how your assets will be distributed.

5. We all need the counseling and assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney to help us make good decisions.

What is an Estate Plan?

Your estate is comprised of the assets you own, which include your car, home, bank accounts, investments, life insurance, furniture, and personal belongings. No matter how large or how small your estate, you can’t take it with you when you die, and you probably want certain people to have certain things you own.

To make sure that happens, you need to provide written instructions stating who you want to receive your assets and belongings, what you want them to receive, and when they are to receive it. That is the essence of an estate plan. If you have young children, you’ll need to name someone to raise them in your place and to manage their inheritance.

A properly prepared estate plan also will have instructions for your care (and the management of your assets) if you become incapacitated, even for a short time, due to illness or injury. Without the proper documents in place, your family will have to ask the court for permission to use your assets to take care of you and to oversee your care. That process is out of your control and it takes time and costs money, making an already difficult situation even more difficult for your family.

It might surprise you, but having a plan in place often means more to families with modest means because:

1) they can least afford to pay unnecessary court costs and legal fees, and

2) state laws, which take over in the absence of planning, often distribute assets in an undesirable way.

Here’s an example:

Sam and Meg had two young children. Sam died in a car accident on his way to work. Because he had no estate plan, the laws in his state divided his estate into thirds: one third went to Meg and one third to each of his children. Meg, a stay-at-home mom, was forced to go back to work. The court set up a guardianship for each child, which required ongoing court costs, including accounting, guardianship, and attorney fees. By the time the children reached 18 and received their inheritances, there was not enough left for them to go to college.

What You Need to Know

Don’t try to do estate planning yourself. You need the counseling and assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney who knows the laws in your state and has the expertise to guide you in making difficult decisions such as who will raise your children and who will look after your care during incapacity. That attorney will also know how to carefully craft the appropriate estate planning documents, so that what you think will happen when you become incapacitated or die actually happens.

What to Do Next

Call us today at (800) 679-6709 to set up an estate planning consultation appointment. We make tough topics manageable to discuss and talk about. Don’t worry about how life will unfold; the best practice is to have your plan prepared now based on your current situation.

Ben E. Connor, Esq.
The Connor Law Firm, PLC
9777 N. 91st Street, Suite C-103
Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
800-679-6709 (toll free)
480-296-2069 (local)
Ben@ConnorLegal.com
www.connorlegal.com

Client Reviews

Outstanding Professionalism with Clear Communication. We were introduced to Ben Connor and his Law Firm over 20 years ago and quickly became comfortable with Ben’s knowledge, experience, reputation, plus fair...

K and D

He was Kind, Patient, and Took all the Time We Needed. Ben created an excellent Living Trust for Laurie and me. He has been a personal friend for many years and finally I asked his advice after leaving the...

DOJ

We Trust Ben Completely. We met Ben through a mutual friend, and when we decided to set up a living trust, he was the only one we felt could provide us with the expertise, sound advice and personal service we...

S J

Truly Cares about his Clients. Ben is an excellent attorney who also truly cares about his clients. He created a wonderful Living Trust for me and my late husband, as well as an LLC for our business. He was...

JP

Excellent Attorney. Excellent Attorney who is wonderful to work with and create the perfect trust!! Ben Created a living trust for my partner and I. Prior to Ben, the thought of creating a trust intimidated me...

Amy

Trusted Advisor. Trust is very important when working with an Estate Planner, and after working with Ben Connor on our estate planning we highly recommend him without reservation. Ben walked us through our...

SJ

Excellent Living Trust. Ben created an excellent Living Trust for Tug and I. He explained our options from A to Z so that we could actually decide for ourselves what we wanted done. He answered all our...

Bonnie

Contact Us

Fill out the contact form or call us at (435) 359-1414 or (800) 679-6709 to schedule your free consultation.
  • Phone.svg Let Us Help, Call Today
  • Experience.svg 29 Years of Estate Planning Experience
  • Estate-Planning-focus.svg 100% Estate Planning Focus

Leave Us a Message

Our Offices

Address-Photo-200x200-2.png
St. George, UT Office (Main Office)
20 N Main St
#301

St. George, UT 84770

Address-Photo-200x200-1.png
Scottsdale, AZ Office
9777 N 91st St
#C-103

Scottsdale, AZ 85258