Estate planning can be confusing. Most people have a loose understanding of how it works.
As a result, people may talk about estate planning without fully understanding what they’re talking about. This can lead to a lot of misconceptions. To learn about estate planning, you may need to read about these common misunderstandings:
Estate planning is only for the elderly
Many people don’t expect to die until they’re much older. However, accidents do happen and people may develop physical and mental health issues early in life. In other words, an estate plan can be useful at an early age even if it does nothing but collect dust.
No one should know about your estate plans
One of the things that people advise is that a testator’s family, friends and heirs shouldn’t know who’s included in a testator’s estate plans. This can, in theory, reduce family issues, such as if a family member believes that they have a right to a testator’s assets. However, if a testator tells their family and friends their intent for their estate plans, they may be able to fix any issues before they come up.
You can’t remove heirs from your will
Perhaps an heir did something to offend a testator. The testator may wish to remove the heir from their estate plan. In a will, the testator has the liberty to add and remove beneficiaries as they see fit. However, an irrevocable trust, for example, may not remove a beneficiary unless they agree.
You don’t need to update your estate plan
Many people believe that they can only make one estate plan. However, it may benefit people to update their estate plans over the years. For starters, people often have more assets that can be included in their plans. But, they may also wish to add or remove people from their plans.
You may still be misinformed about estate planning. To ensure you are taking the right steps, you may need to reach out for legal help.