Estate Planning Lawyer Abingdon Virginia

Writing your estate plan is one of the most important legal documents you will create in your life. Your estate plan will give you peace of mind knowing that your family and loved ones are taken care of after you are gone. Many people believe that only older people need to create an estate plan, but the reality is that everyone should have an estate plan set up. What exactly does an estate plan include? And is this something that you could do on your own or do you need the help of an estate planning lawyer in Abingdon, Virginia?

The Main Components of an Estate Plan

As an Abingdon VA estate planning lawyer can explain, there are five main components of an estate plan: a will, financial power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, disposition of property and disposition of final remains. A will and last testament are probably the most well-known part of an estate plan. It is typically what people think of first when thinking about planning their estate. Your will is the official document where you clearly lay out who receives what. What family members receive your house? Are your finances split evenly between your children? Your will also states who will take care of your children if you were to pass away while they were still under the age of 18.

The financial power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney documents are also a critical piece of your estate plan. The financial power of attorney is where you designate a specific person who is in charge of making financial decisions including paying bills, making deposits, and making decisions to sell assets. A healthcare power of attorney designates someone to make decisions on your behalf regarding your healthcare. They will be the one who honors your wishes including organ donation, resuscitation instructions, and other end-of-life decisions.

Disposition of personal property is when you designate certain items to certain people. For example, if you have a retro car that you want to leave to your cousin, this is the document where you would write this. It is specifically for certain items that you want to call out rather than lumping them into your general will.

Disposition of final remains is the document where you write out your funeral arrangements. Many people want to take the burden off their loved ones and will plan out their funeral before their passing. It is also where you describe how you would like your body to be treated.

Should I Hire an Abingdon VA Estate Planning Lawyer?

With a document this important, you don’t want to leave the legality of the documents to chance. Many people don’t want to pay for help from an estate planning lawyer in Abingdon VA, however, spending a few hundred dollars up front could save you and your family a lot of financial and emotional hardships in the future. An estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA offers will sit down with you and make sure that you take everything into account when writing your estate plan and that the document will stand up in court if ever contested. Reach out to an estate planning lawyer Abingdon VA clients recommend from The Law Office of Mark T. Hunt today for a free consultation.