How Does Estate Planning Keep Us Out of Court? (Video)

How Does Estate Planning Keep Me and My Family Out of Court?

Hi. I’m Gary the owner of DeWitt law. We take care of you so you can take care of your family. Start now at DeWitt dot law.

Estate planning keeps you and your family out of court in two major ways.

First is during your lifetime. If you were to become incapacitated for any reason, at any age, your family can’t sign for you. Legally, they need the permission of a Judge to make your decisions. To do this they must go to court for a “guardianship.” The Judge will give somebody in your family permission to manage your day to day decisions. However, for major things, like selling a house, they must go back to the Judge.

Second is after your lifetime. Without a plan, your family faces Probate. Probate is the court overseen process of transferring your final estate to your heirs. It takes 8 months or more. Probate usually causes a lot of anxiety in the people going through it. Without a Will, the State through a Judge manages the entire process.

Why do you want to keep out of court? The first and foremost reason I can think of is control. You and your family lose control of managing family business. Then there is privacy. When you go to court, parts of your personal life, and your family’s personal life, become part of the public record. Financial predators exist for no better reason than to try to prey on you and your family when they are going through already hard times.

We take care of you so you can take care of your family. Start now at DeWitt dot law.