Posted on: 8 January 2018

Have you been giving thought to your last wishes? Are you finally getting ready to put everything down into writing so that your friends and family will know what to do when the time comes? Whether you're completely sure how you want everything to be divided up or you're still making last minute changes, it's not always easy to put your last wishes into written form. In fact, even if you know exactly how everything should be distributed, it's a good idea to consult with a professional regarding how things should be. There are a number of reasons why you should do this, some of which include:

Final expenses: Funerals can be an expensive proposition. You may be the type who has set aside money for a traditional burial or you may be wanting to save money by being cremated. Regardless of how you want your remains to be handled, estate planning services can help you to communicate your final wishes to your family and friends. This includes things like what you want to have done with your remains as well as whether or not you've prepaid for any of your funeral expenses.

Taxes: Receiving an inheritance often involves paying a hefty amount of taxes on whatever was inherited. This can, unfortunately, result in the person in question losing most of their inheritance to the government. While it's generally impossible to avoid taxes completely, professional estate planning services can help make you aware of the potential cost to your heirs and can help you to take steps to alleviate the issue. This can include dividing up your estate slightly differently so that taxes are less of a factor or so that the estate itself is better able to pay the taxes.

Disinheriting: As unfortunate as it may be, it's not completely uncommon for a family to have a member who nobody speaks to. This person may be an actual criminal or they may simply have done something to hurt you in the past. But, whatever the reasoning, you don't want them to get anything even though they might normally be expected to inherit a portion of your property. In some states, simply not mentioning someone in your will isn't sufficient to cut them out completely; they may be able to successfully sue for a percentage of your estate by saying that you simply forgot about them. Professional estate planning services will be able to tell you the steps you need to take so that this doesn't happen after you're gone.