Estate planning is a lot like life insurance in the sense that many Americans don’t think it is something they really need to think about until the value thereof is explained to them. Others look at an Estate Plan as a form of a will – which in some sense it could be considered similar to a Will – but the two documents and their intended purpose are not one and the same. So what exactly is an estate plan? In the simplest terms, it is a written statement of instruction regarding an individual’s assets and belongings and how they will be allocated and to whom.
So how is this different from a will? Wills are encompassed within an estate plan; they are actually a prominent element of estate planning. But while a will is more of a general indication of who gets what, an estate plan goes much deeper and is far more detailed. Estate plans encompass an individual’s estate both before and after he or she passes. It is therefore a document that is developed over time. Putting together an estate plan is an ongoing process and requires the utmost care in its development and eventual execution. Only the most experienced and knowledgeable legal counsel should be sought when looking to establish an estate plan. There are a number of professionals involved in estate planning such as wealth managers and real estate and financial brokers and it can be challenging to define a plan through all of these channels without strong legal representation.
