What is an Estate Plan?
There is no single definition of an estate plan. An estate plan may consist of any number of planning documents. Some basic documents that, in Illinois, are included in most estate plans are Living Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney for Property, Powers of Attorney for Health Care, Living Wills, HIPAA Authorizations and Appointments of Agent to Control Disposition of Remains. Any documents that control the disposition of assets at death or the handling of your affairs during incapacity are “estate planning” documents. Your failure to plan your estate results in the state planning it for you. There are default rules that control the disposition of your assets at death, and other rules that govern what happens in the event of your incapacity. Unfortunately, those rules do not take your individual circumstances into consideration, and their implementation tends to be time-consuming and, therefore, more expensive than planning your own estate. The default rules also fail to take estate and
An estate plan is a written expression of how you want your assets to be owned, managed and preserved during your lifetime (including, during your lifetime after disability), and how you want those assets distributed upon your death. Often an estate plan is designed to incur the least possible taxes and other administrative costs. Estate plans involve the use of several different documents to achieve your estate planning goals, including: a Declaration of Trust, Powers of Attorney for Health Care and Property, and a Will.
An estate plan is a formal set of instructions that lets people know what you would like to happen to your estate (personal property, investments, etc) in the event of your death or inability to make decisions (ie you are mentally incompetent, or in a coma). An estate plan can be simple or very detailed and can include what and how and by whom your estate can be distributed and used. However, your plan must be properly drafted and executed to comply with the law or it will not be legally binding and therefore will not accomplish want you intended.
Estate planning is a process involving the counsel of professional advisors who are familiar with your goals and concerns, your assets and how they are owned, and your family structure. Estate planning covers the transfer of property at death as well as a variety of other personal matters and may or may not involve tax planning. The core document most often associated with this process is your will.
An estate plan generally includes a will along with other documents working together to help maximize your control of the distribution of your assets, while minimizing taxes and strain on your family. It is a statement of what you want to happen to your family, your assets and your remains once you are gone.
