You have a trust or a will in place, so you have determined how the distribution of your assets will take place upon your death. That is great, because now you are at least assured that the "government plan" or intestate succession is not necessarily your plan. Further, with a funded trust, your estate will also avoid unnecessary and unwanted probate.
Your estate plan will also avoid unnecessary disputes about the distribution of the estate. Each family is different but how do you think a typical family may react if it was up to them to agree upon how the assets of a loved one should be distributed? Clearly, in many cases, consensus would be hard to come by. You don't have to worry about this when it comes to your estate, but there is an issue that is often ignored. That issue is the funeral planning.
If you were to pass away without leaving behind any instructions regarding your funeral details your family members could wind up disagreeing. Of course, this comes at a very difficult time for families. If one family member takes charge and arranges for cremation when other family members have moral or religious objections, it can create a rift in the family. Even choices of caskets, the amount spent on the funeral arrangements and the choice of burial clothing can create hard feelings at a highly emotional time.
Even if there are no particular disagreements among family members, someone is going to have to take up serious time in making these arrangements at a time when they are grieving and in no mood for it.
If you take the time to make your funeral arrangements in advance, you can even select the facility, casket and clothing of your choice and pre-pay should you choose to do so. To learn more about including final arrangements in your estate plan, get in touch with an experienced northern Nevada estate planning lawyer to arrange for a consultation.
