Many people living in Louisiana work hard to accumulate valuable belongings. These belongings often include houses, cars, boats, stocks and other tangible goods. Unfortunately, no one can live forever to enjoy their accumulated assets. Estate planning makes sure that those you leave behind benefit from your belongings.

What is estate planning?

Estate planning is a process involving tasks someone completes to protect their assets in the event that this person becomes incapacitated or dies. Many people are under the false assumption that estate planning is only for millionaires or billionaires. Anyone wanting control over the distribution of their assets after passing away should strongly consider estate planning.

Why is estate planning beneficial?

Planning one’s estate is beneficial for several reasons. First, estate planning enables your beneficiaries to receive your assets. Having these assets offers financial protection for your beneficiaries even when you’re no longer around.

Estate planning also keeps your assets from going through Louisiana probate court. Probate courts are state-appointed courts determining how to distribute assets for people who passed away or became incapacitated without estate plans. While probate is a beneficial service, it’s also time-consuming. Plus, probate costs can eat away at the value of your estate as time goes on.

The third benefit of estate planning is minimizing potential fighting between beneficiaries. Losing a loved one is difficult, but not receiving what you want from them only makes things more challenging. Without an estate plan, your beneficiaries might also get into disputes about who gets what.

While it’s beneficial, estate planning can be intimidating for someone who isn’t familiar with its ins and outs. A financial or legal professional may be able to assist you in drafting your will and other estate plan-related documents and answer questions that you might have during the process.