You have worked hard to achieve what you have. Even if you did not reach every goal you set for yourself, you are successful in many ways and respected by those who matter most to you. This is an important place to be in life, and it feels good to have some control over your destiny. In fact, it may be too difficult to imagine that a time may come when you will have to relinquish some of that control.
For many in Nevada and elsewhere, that fear of losing control is what prevents them from undertaking the important process of estate planning. They mistakenly believe that planning for the future means giving up their rights and assets to others. This may be only one of the reasons why you hesitate to take this critical step to preserve your wealth and protect your loved ones.
What’s holding you back?
Protecting your estate from taxes no longer means signing away your property or handing over your savings to your children. There are options and estate planning tools, such as trusts, that allow you to maintain control of your assets without exposing them to the burden of taxes. To understand what options are most appropriate for your situation, you would do well to speak with an estate-planning attorney who may also be able to dispel some of your other fears, such as those below:
- Dread of facing the unknown future
- The cost of creating an estate plan
- Worry over being strong-armed into a plan you don’t want
- Confusion about building a plan that meets the unique make-up of your family
This final point is common to many because each family has its personal dynamic. You likely have children or other potential heirs who are more or less capable of handling the inheritance you want to leave, and your uncertainty about how to balance your gifts may cause you to prefer not to think about it at all. It is not unusual to consider whether to distribute your assets equally, according to the needs of your heirs or based on the attention each heir has demonstrated to you.
Of course, one popular roadblock among those who hesitate to begin estate planning is the necessity of dealing with a lawyer. This even causes some to trust their estates to generic online wills. To overcome this understandable distaste of engaging with a legal professional who makes you feel uncomfortable or inferior, you have the right to interview more than one attorney until you find one who is compassionate, open to your ideas and understanding of your fears.