As someone who has no heirs, you may think estate planning is not for you. However, estate planning is for all adults, regardless of heirs. Part of this planning is preparing for the unexpected in your own life! In fact, there are many reasons why you need an estate plan even if you don’t have heirs. Learn why to start your estate plan today!
Avoid a Potential Guardianship with a Durable General POA
If you are growing older, you never know what unexpected medical events could be around the corner. If you become incapacitated and cannot make decisions for yourself, who will do it for you?
A Durable General Power of Attorney (POA) can appoint someone of your choosing to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf if you can no longer do so. Without this document, a court may appoint a guardian to make these decisions for you, and that person may not be someone you would have chosen yourself.
You can also choose a Power of Attorney for Healthcare that will allow someone to make medical decisions for you in case of an emergency. If you get into a car wreck and become comatose, who will decide whether you need surgery? Choosing a Medical POA can help your medical team carry out your desires.
Estate planning is not just about what happens when you die – it is about what happens while you are alive. If something unexpected were to happen to you, do you have a plan? If not, now is the time to create one!
An Estate Plan Keeps Your Affairs Private
When you die without estate planning, your affairs become a public record. Anyone can request information about your assets and debts. They can also see who the judge appoints to handle your estate. If you prefer to keep your affairs private, you need to have an estate plan that avoids probate.
Probate is the legal process that occurs after someone dies. If you die without a living trust document, your property will go through probate. Probate can last a long time. Sometimes probate eats your assets away as family members contest your estate. Not writing a will can cost your estate more than you have to give.
You Choose Who Receives Your Property
State law dictates who receives your property if you die without a will. The state-mandated choices of heirs come from North Carolina Intestate Law. These heirs may not be the individuals you would choose yourself!
By creating a will, you decide who receives your property when you die. Choosing for yourself is especially important if you have specific items that you would like to go to certain people.
Many people think they don’t own enough to write a will, but consider your digital assets:
- websites or domains
- channels of marketing streams or videos
- content that you created in online blogs or journals
- cryptocurrencies
- online photo albums
- online shops
- collections of professional photographs or edited videos
- memberships with benefits such as hotel stays or flights, and
- digital assets stored on physical drives with uncrackable passwords
- emails, notes, and more!
Who do you want to see your digital data when you’re gone? According to a law signed in 2016, NC digital account owners can provide a trustee with authority to manage their digital assets. In NC, you can add a codicil to your will to add a fiduciary trustee. Your trustee can go through your accounts, retrieve what is valuable, and give it to whomever you desire.
Protection From Medical Interventions You May Not Want
Advance directives are legal documents that allow you to state your written wishes for medical treatment if you cannot communicate them due to incapacitation. These directives include life support measures, such as respiratory, nutritional, and hydration measures. You can also decide about organ donation.
If you do not have advance directives and become incapacitated, your family or others will make medical decisions for you. Making complex medical decisions for you is difficult for loved ones without direction from you. They have no way of knowing what you would prefer. You can avoid this with proper estate planning.
Get Your Plans In Order
For someone who has no heirs, the estate planning process is not just about what happens when you die – it is about what happens while you are alive. If something unexpected were to happen to you, do you have a plan? If not, now is the time to create your future.
An estate plan can provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones. It ensures that others understand your wishes, both while alive and after you pass away.
We Can Help
At Cape Fear Law, we work with you to create estate plans tailored to your specific needs. We can help you create a will, living trust, advance directives, and more. Take advantage of our experience with estate planning needs, including simple wills to more complex trusts and tax planning strategies. Our attorneys take the time to learn about your unique circumstances and craft an estate plan that meets your goals. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
We look forward to helping you!