Boulder Estate Planning Legal Blog

Estate planning early in your life is not the same as estate planning later in life. For example, there is a big difference between creating your first estate plan in your 20s and altering your plan when you reach your 60s or 70s.

As soon as one begins looking into estate planning and creating a plan to leave property to heirs and beneficiaries, it doesn’t take long to run up against the looming possibility of probate. When an estate passes through probate, the state assumes an individual’s estate and distributes it, but at great potential expense to the value of the estate and significantly increasing the amount of time that beneficiaries must wait to receive anything.

There are many different challenging situations that come up when you are creating an estate plan. For adults who haven’t had children, there are some unique obstacles that must be faced. In many cases, these individuals might think that they don’t need an estate plan, but this is far from the truth.

Throughout our combined years of practice, we have found that many people still come to us with misconceptions about how trusts function. Some believe that trusts are only for the wealthy or that a simple will can meet their estate planning needs. While both of these may be true to an extent, trusts can do much more than many people realize.

Every adult should have a will, even if only to make end of life wishes clear. However, merely having a will does not offer the full range of benefits that a person can enjoy. It is also important to keep a will updated regularly to address any life changes that may affect the will.

It doesn’t matter if you’re creating your first estate plan or reviewing something you already have in place, you should do whatever it takes to make all the right decisions.

If you’re planning to have a baby, then you also need to have a will. The most important reason why relates to the unlikely event that you and the other parent die. A last will and testament will dictate who shall serve as the guardians of your children if you and the other parent of your child are no longer able.

Do you want to leave it all to your pet? It may surprise you that pets cannot own assets or inherit money. But you can appoint a caretaker to take on your pet’s ownership and maintenance needs if something happens to you by setting up a pet trust.

Your health care decisions are important matters that can have a big impact on your final days. When it comes time to make those decisions, there is a chance that you won’t be able to make them on your own. This is often the case if your mind isn’t what it used to be.

There are many reasons why choosing a guardian for your child is easier said than done. Among them is the fact that you need to think about what you want to happen in the event that you are no longer around to raise your child.