A Simple Estate Is Not the Ticket to Simplicity That You Think It Is
While almost everyone else makes themselves miserable trying to get rich, you have figured out a more certain path to happiness. Specifically, you have embraced the simple life, where you are content with your modest possessions, and you spend your efforts appreciating the things that money cannot buy. You might think that, by embracing this lifestyle, you have also made things simpler for your heirs. You have a lifetime of stories and photographs to share with them, and certainly they will enjoy these more than they will enjoy fighting over your property in probate. In fact, if you own little enough property, your probate case will be a cinch, and if you own even less than that, your estate might not even have to go through probate at all. Don’t be so sure that you will get the last laugh, though. Yes, not owning property keeps your property out of probate as much as stashing it away in trusts does, but estate planning is not all about property. To find out how much estate planning you still have to do even if you are on track to win the non-materialistic Olympics, contact a Bronx estate planning lawyer.
Death Involves More Than Just Leaving Money for the Probate Court to Distribute
If you own next to no property, you have only accomplished one of the goals of estate planning, which is to make it simple for your heirs to inherit your property after you die. You have not solved the other parts of the problem. Specifically, how will your family take care of you if and when you are in ill health? The severe and permanent illness of a close family member can be as painful for the rest of the family as the death of a close family member.
The least you can do is draft a medical power of attorney. This document explains what medical treatments you do and do not wish to undergo in the event that a doctor recommends them; it also authorizes a specific family member or other trusted person to express your consent or lack thereof in the event that you are too ill to speak for yourself. Likewise, if you have so little money that your estate will likely be eligible for simplified probate, then you will probably be eligible for Medicaid nursing home care. The only other option is if you own your house jointly with a family member, and you task your family with being full-time caregivers with you as you continue to live at home, no matter how sick you get. Both of these are unglamorous options, so the least you can do now is express to your family that you understand the choices you are making.
Schedule a Confidential Consultation With a Bronx Estate Planning Attorney
A probate lawyer can help you craft a realistic estate plan, even if you own little property. Contact Cavallo & Cavallo in the Bronx, New York to set up a consultation.
Source:
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