Estate Planning

We receive a lot of questions from potential clients about estate planning. Some of the more common questions include:

What is an Estate Plan?

When the phrase “Estate Plan” is used, it most commonly refers to the documents outlining a person’s wishes for their estate (i.e. property) in the event of their incapacity or death. These documents tend to focus around the distribution of property to heirs.

Although every estate plan is different, they commonly include a trust, a will, power of attorney, and advance health care directives (i.e. living will). For a couple they often include two wills, two powers of attorney, one trust, and two advance health care directives. Your estate plan may additionally include deeds to real property, assignments of interests in property, business formations, contracts, certifications, and more. Most of these other documents fund your assets into your trust or trusts.

When do I need it?

You need an estate plan when you have property that needs to be distributed when you die. Most people know to whom they want to give their property, but often fail to realize that the law doesn’t always default to automatically following their wishes. Wills and trusts constitute the legal method for instructing the people left behind how to distribute your property and to whom it should go. Additionally, everyone, with or without property, may benefit from advance health care directives and a power of attorney.

What are my alternatives?

Although the documents included in an estate plan are crucial to achieving your goals, you have alternatives. Most assets, such as real estate, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, etc., include beneficiary or payable on death options that can be set up during life without a will or trust. These options provide a method of designating an heir for assets without probate. Sometimes this works, but few banks and brokerages offer the detail that most people want included in their estate planning documents such as provisions for those with disabilities or spendthrift issues.

One could also simply not plan at all. A lack of preparation, or intestate succession, leaves the family and heirs to either fight over the remaining property or follow the state default plan. In Utah the default plan prefers, in simplistic terms, the spouse first, then the children equally, then the grandchildren equally on a per capita at each generation basis. The law directs additional variations for children from prior relationships. The rules of intestacy in Utah are found in Utah Code Title 75, Chapter 2.

Do I need an attorney do draft estate planning documents?

In Utah, the law permits one to draft their own estate plan documents. Free or inexpensive forms can be purchased online or found in other places. The advantages you receive when you hire an attorney include more experience and customization than you receive from standard forms. Your attorney also provides additional insights and ideas which you might not have had on your own. Most importantly, an experienced estate planning attorney helps you avoid the pitfalls found in probate and trust administration.

How much does an estate plan cost?

The cost of an estate plan varies from both the source and from the needed documents. A simple will can be written by hand and cost only the paper and ink used. A complex tax planning strategy and the many documents, business entities, and creative transfers required can cost thousands. Most people who ask us this, however, are just regular people with a spouse, a house, perhaps some investments, some life insurance, and a few children. Most of these people fall into the more basic estate planning category. They could use a basic estate plan and a little help putting it together. For this, we see prices range from about $1,000 to $5,000. Most of our clients pay around $2,000 for their estate plan with us.

To see what Paul Maxfield can do for your estate planning needs, call Maxfield Law today: (385) 298-0700