Why do I need an estate plan?

People from all walks of life need some sort of estate planning. If you are a breadwinner in a middle-class family or a high net worth individual you would need to consider estate planning before it’s too late. The main reason people need an estate plan is because during your lifetime you have the chance to designate who receives what. If you don’t plan your estate during your lifetime, the court will do it for you upon your death, which could take years not to mention extremely costly. But to better understand why you really need an estate plan take 10-15 minutes to do the following steps: 

First, list all your properties. These include your investments, retirement accounts, insurance policies, real estate, business interests and valuable items - in financial or emotional terms - such as jewelry, cars, baseball card collections or your great-grandmother's good china. This is also where you would add your four-legged furry friends. Future business opportunities would also go here. 

Second, designate heirs and decide who gets what and when. 

Third, think about all the people you would trust to handle your business affairs and medical care in the event that you become incapacitated or disabled. 

Fourth, at this point you should have been able to determine if and why you need an estate plan. But, if you are still not sure why you need an estate plan, schedule a free consultation with Safora Nowrouzi, Esq. at 424-279-4480 and she will help walk you through the steps.