St. Paul Probate & Estate Administration Law Blog

Numerous articles have popped up in recent years telling people to make their wills without a lawyer. With the advent of the internet, it has never been simpler to make your own will, but you need to be cautious of this. 

You want to have professional help when it comes to crafting your estate planning documents. You seriously jeopardize your loved ones receiving the assets you want to leave them when you write a will independently. 

There are numerous mistakes to avoid making on a will or trust that could compromise the inheritances your beneficiaries will receive. One mistake you can make involves creating your own will.

You probably also know that you need more than a simple will in an estate plan. However, there are plenty of other actions to avoid because they can either be expensive and lengthy to fix or can compromise how much money your children end up receiving. 

Much of estate planning involves naming people, such as the beneficiaries of a will and financial accounts, the executor of the estate, powers of attorney and so on. If you wish to establish a trust as part of your plans, then you will also need to name a trustee.

To make the best decision on who that person should be, you first need to understand the duties and laws regarding this role.

Many people dread estate planning and think of it only as writing a will or setting up a trust. Of course, there may different aspects to the process, but estate planning is far more than that. As the name suggests, it is the more significant process of planning for the future and caring for your loved ones. Planning of any kind requires that you have goals, and the following are just a few of the goals that you should consider. 

Whether you are recently married, had children or acquired new assets, it is always a good idea to continually update your estate plan. If you do not yet have one, you should reach out to a legal representative to get started as soon as possible. Keep the following three goals in mind as you do so: