Mobile Estate Planning Attorneys

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Choosing An Executor

You have taken one of the first steps towards getting your final affairs in order – good for you! Now it is time to determine how you want your estate distributed – but that is not the only decision you will need to make. One of the most important decisions that you will face when creating your Will is choosing an executor – the person who be in charge of the responsibility of distributing your belongings according to your will – a decision that warrants some thought and consideration of a few important factors.

What Are The Executor’s Responsibilities?

Naming an individual as your executor is something that should be done after determining who would be best able to handle the responsibilities of the job. This is the person who will be responsible for taking care of all of your final matters, not just dividing up your household furnishings. Various administrative tasks are part of the job, including collecting mail and canceling credit cards, memberships, and subscriptions, paying your final bills, gathering information about your benefit or retirement plans and notifying the administrators of each of your death, and making an inventory of all of your assets and debts at the time of your death. This may include gathering information from your safe deposit box, your home safe or lock box, and from your will itself.

Who Should You Name?

Often times, people will name their spouse or child to serve in this capacity and, many times, this is possibly the best choice, as those who are closest to you usually are the most familiar with your financial situation and would have the most knowledge about what types of assets and debts you have in order to settle matters efficiently and expeditiously. Your executor should be someone you trust to handle the responsibilities and someone you believe will be around to accept the responsibility when the time comes to do so. For this reason, choosing your parent or an older sibling may not be the best choice. It is advisable, also, to name an alternate in the event you outlive your named executor or even co-executors if you believe the matter is best handled by a team. Under Alabama law, you can name anyone as long as they are at least 19 years old, competent, and have not been convicted of an ‘infamous’ crime.

Contact Cloud Willis & Ellis, LLC When You Need Estate Planning Work

The estate planning process is one of the best things you can complete to finalize your matters, but everyone’s needs are different. Whether you have some idea of what you want to accomplish or you have no idea where to start, the office of Cloud Willis & Ellis, LLC is here to help. We will work with you to find an estate planning solution that works for you based on your individual circumstances. Our estate planning attorneys have helped clients of all ages and from all walks of life to determine what is best for each of them. Regardless of how extensive your estate planning process is, we will help you to ensure you have covered everything. Contact the office of Cloud Willis & Ellis, LLC and schedule your initial consultation today.

Resource:

aarp.org/money/estate-planning/info-04-2011/choosing-right-executor-trustee.html

Estate Planning For A Lifetime

Estate planning is something that many people may feel reluctant to talk about. Indeed, the subject of planning for our future, and beyond, makes many people uncomfortable, as we are forced to come to term with our own mortality. However, taking care of this matter usually is a comfort to those who do it because it allows them to feel confident that issues will be handled the way they would have wanted them to be handled after they are gone. Many people do not realize that a portion of the estate planning process includes handling matters that still affect them during their own lifetime and that they themselves can benefit along with their family members and eventual heirs. In particular, trusts are a tool in the estate planning process that can benefit you as well as your survivors.

What Is A Trust?

Trusts come in many different forms and serve many different purposes. Choosing which type of trust works best for you depends upon your individual situation and what you are trying to accomplish. Trusts can be either living trusts or testamentary trusts; a living trust is one that becomes effective immediately after it is created, and a testamentary trust is one that does not become effective until after your death. A testamentary trust is sometimes created within a will – another tool in the estate planning toolbox.

Are Take-Backs Allowed?

Once a trust is created, one factor determines whether you can change your mind – and change your trust. With a revocable trust, you are still the owner and in control of the property included in the trust. You can change anything in it – revoke it, hence the name – including who will receive the property, who will handle the property, and the terms of how the trust itself will operate. An irrevocable trust, on the other hand, gives complete control over and ownership of the property included in the trust to those you name as the trustees; with this type of trust, you are no longer able to change anything, as the property is no longer yours.

Which Is Right For Me?

Decisions such as these are not always as easy as they may seem at first thought and what is best for you depends upon a variety of factors including, perhaps most importantly, your tax situation. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you to understand how each different type of trust will impact you – and your beneficiaries – with respect to taxes and help you to choose the right solution to accomplish your estate planning goals.

Contact Cloud Willis & Ellis, LLC For Your Estate Planning Needs

When you want to determine the best way to handle your estate planning matters, you want the best possible advice to make these important decisions. The legal professionals at Cloud Willis & Ellis, LLC in Birmingham and Mobile have the experience to help you with estate planning it the way that makes the most sense for you. Our estate planning attorneys will help you to assess what types of estate planning tools are best for your individual situation and help you to feel confident in the choices you make. We work hard to ensure your satisfaction and allow you to rest assure that everything is in order. Contact the office of Cloud Willis & Ellis, LLC now to get started.

Resources:

http://www.aarp.org/money/estate-planning/info-09-2010/ten_things_you_should_know_about_living_trusts.html

http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2013/08/09/revocable-vs-irrevocable-which-trust-is-right-for

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