Families that have settled in Farmington can enjoy life each day on their terms, but they may also want to think about what could happen tomorrow. Estate planning is the best way to make your mind feel at peace when it starts to drift to these more difficult subjects. With the help of a Farmington estate planning lawyer, you can be ready for nearly anything that life might send your way.
An up-to-date, carefully crafted will is the most critical part of a typical estate plan. You may also want to discuss planning for a medical emergency. Your family can know exactly how to respond when you have been incapacitated by looking at your advance healthcare directive. This set of documents includes a durable power of attorney, instructions for care (AKA a “living will), and a primary care doctor designation.
Reach out to New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys for assistance, advice, and guidance through every step of the estate planning process. When you work with a Farmington estate planning attorney from our firm, you can know with confidence that your plans can be there to protect you, your family, and your legacy for generations to come.
Get started with crafting a personalized strategy today when you call our Farmington estate planning law firm at (505) 503-1637 or contact us online to schedule a no-obligation case review.
An estate planning lawyer can help with any of the following:
Every estate needs, at the very least, a will. Even if the majority of the estate will not be probated (see more on strategies to avoid probate below), a will resolves major legal questions for your loved ones.
Whether or not you need the other parts of estate planning depends on your goals, preferences, and unique situation. An experienced Farmington estate planning lawyer is likely to recommend putting together an advance healthcare directive, in any case, since these serve to document and legally protect your wishes for healthcare treatment in the event of a medical emergency.
You can start the process of figuring out the components of an estate plan that you feel are necessary by sitting down with a Farmington estate planning attorney. They will listen closely to you as you describe your financial situation, your plan for inheritances, your preferences for life-saving medical treatment, and the values you want to uphold throughout your plan.
All of these elements of your estate plan come together to paint a detailed picture of the future you want to see. Your estate planning attorney can then help you make that future a reality, using careful strategies and best practices based on their years of experience.
The most important thing you can do to help your family and other loved ones manage your estate after you die is to write and execute a will. According to a 2021 Gallup poll, just 46% of U.S. adults have a will prepared.
Without a will, state laws dictate how your property is divided. Your family also has to decide who represents your estate in probate court. They may end up feeling stressed and uncertain, left in the dark as to what you would have wanted and whether they are following your wishes.
Even if you have minimal assets or take careful steps to reduce the size of your probated estate using strategies like a living trust, a will provides essential information. This information may be needed for legal verification, and it can make probate and other legal obligations easier to manage. Your will can also include a residuary or “pour-over” clause, which tells your executor (called a “personal representative” by the courts) who should get everything that wasn’t specifically mentioned in the will.
In addition to writing a will, you can take the following steps to reduce the stress, worry, or uncertainty your loved ones may feel when handling your estate:
Having any sort of will is a fantastic first step. However, you should take care to review your will and update it periodically. It’s crucial to make a new will anytime you have major life or property changes. For example, if you have gotten divorced, remarried, or purchased a new home since the last time you wrote your will, you should take the time to revise it.
Having multiple wills can be confusing. Fortunately, there are laws in place that give priority to the most recent will, just in case there are two or more competing copies. Even still, you can clear up any questions by physically shredding old, outdated copies of your will. You can also include a revocation clause in your new will, making it clear which copy is supposed to be used to handle your estate.
This disclosure gives them time to prepare. It also gives them a chance to decline the role if they don’t feel comfortable. What might happen otherwise is that they decline the position after your death, and then the court has to decide who should take over. You can also explain some of your general plans to your personal representative and relay important information, such as where you kept your will.
You should keep your will somewhere safe but easy to locate. You can put it in a fireproof safe or cabinet in your home, for example, or in a safe deposit box at a bank. Along with your will, include copies of important documents, like your advance healthcare directive, your property titles, and so forth. If you don’t feel comfortable keeping the originals in the same location (in case of a fire or other disaster), you should include a note explaining where they can be found.
Tell your personal representative and other loved ones where they can find these essential documents.
Probate can take a long time to resolve, at least four to six months, according to the New Mexico Bar Association. Estates with unresolved issues or unanswered questions can take even longer to manage. In the meantime, your loved ones will be left waiting to receive their inheritance.
You can speed up probate, or avoid it entirely, in some cases, by using methods that transfer property while bypassing probate. Examples of assets that skip probate include:
Talk to a Farmington probate lawyer about techniques you can use to reduce the time, effort, and expense your loved ones spend managing your estate after you pass.
Alongside your will, you can provide information on all the major parts of your financial and personal portfolio, including lists and details for:
They may seem trivial now, but what happens to your online accounts after you pass on can be a subject of comfort or sadness for your loved ones. To help both them and you, give them all of the information they would need to access these accounts, and describe what you want to happen to them. For example, you may wish to have them completely deleted. Or, you may want them to be left as a form of memorial for others to revisit from time to time.
You can also write your preferences for other digital assets that have sentimental value, including your emails, photos, and documents that may be left on your device.
Thoughtful estate planning means having backups. You never know if the person you select as your personal representative will be able (or willing) to serve when the time comes. To prepare, name a few backup options in your will.
Similarly, you can name people whom you want to inherit your property if your first choice is no longer alive, refuses the inheritance, or cannot be contacted. This can be accomplished using a simple residuary clause in your will that leaves all unclaimed property to your surviving spouse or children, for example.
Your personal representative is responsible for inventorying your estate after you die, including any debts you owed. To make their life easier, while ensuring that nothing important or valued is left out of your estate, make an inventory in your lifetime. You can list the approximate value of key assets like your home or vehicle. You can also highlight objects with a sentimental value, such as a matchbook from the hotel where you had your wedding reception.
It helps to list all the debts you may end up owing at the time of your death, as well. You can work on paying off some during your lifetime, but others (such as a mortgage) may outlive you. To make settling your estate easier, keep tabs on the amount owed, the name of the creditor, and any other important details, including special arrangements or amounts already paid.
There may be other ways to simplify your estate and prepare your loved ones for your death that aren’t listed here. The only way to find out what those might be is to meet with a Farmington estate planning lawyer. When you sit down with them, they can discuss your situation and make personalized recommendations.
Some families may have complicated property or business ownership arrangements, for example. Others may be concerned about what happens if their surviving spouse remarries after inheriting valuable assets.
Take the time to reach out to a knowledgeable and reputable Farmington estate planning lawyer. It’s the perfect venue to voice your concerns, go over your unique situation, and determine the best strategies to use to prepare for the future that you want to see.
At New Mexico Financial & Estate Planning Attorneys, we have decades of collective experience in estate law, elder law, probate law, and trust administration. Our sole goal is to inform our clients of the best options available and allow them to choose which ones seem like the perfect fit for their future goals.
Thinking about a future where you could be medically incapacitated or unexpectedly pass is uncomfortable, but it’s essential to consider all of the possibilities now. With the right estate plan in place, you can feel more at ease. You’ll know that your loved ones have all of the information and preparation needed to make their lives easier during an emotionally demanding time.
The plans you make now can have a significant effect on the future financial security and well-being of your loved ones, so make the call today that can ensure you’re prepared for anything life might bring. Call our experienced New Mexico estate planning law firm at (505) 503-1637 or contact us online to schedule a confidential, no-risk appointment with our Farmington estate planning law firm.
CallCall now to schedule your consultation 505.503.1637
Office