Estate plans are a viable solution for separating your assets from your estate and reducing its value. With careful attention to detail, estate owners can protect their assets and shorten the time their estate spends in probate after they die. Discussing your options with an estate lawyer in Houston, TX helps determine how to secure your assets and wealth for your family.
Protect Your Real Properties
You have a few options for managing your properties. An early transfer to a family member removes a property from your estate. However, suppose you need more time before you’re ready to give control over an asset to someone else. In that case, you could set up a revocable trust and transfer properties like vacation houses or your family home into the trust.
With a revocable trust, you have control until you die. At that time, your appointed successor takes over. Setting up a trust with an estate lawyer in Houston, TX helps you understand your options and make the best choices for yourself and your heirs.
Dividing Up Your Wealth
Reducing the monetary value of the estate is often a part of managing your wealth. You can transfer some of your money into the irrevocable trust. But you can also set up trust funds for each child and separate the money from the estate to give to your kids directly.
Create a Plan for Debts
Plans for debt management decrease the time that your estate stays in probate. For example, if you separate your wealth from the estate and into a trust, your successor could use the money to pay off your debts after you die. In addition, if your debts are settled before your estate enters probate, creditors cannot withhold the distribution of your heirs’ inheritance.
Consulting an attorney about your estate helps you review all opportunities for protecting assets. For example, in estate planning, you could set up an irrevocable trust or trust fund and transfer a property’s ownership to a loved one. Contact Katherine Boyd Law to create an estate plan and protect your assets from the probate court or visit their website.