What Happens If You Don’t Have an Estate Plan When You Die?
When we talk about estate planning, we often talk about everything that a thorough estate plan can do for you. However, it’s equally important to talk about what can go wrong without an estate plan. This is why it’s so crucial to plan your estate before you think you need to—should you pass away without your affairs in order, you could leave your loved ones in a very difficult situation. Our team can help you create a plan that streamlines your family’s to-do list and gives them time to mourn when you pass. Call Entz Burton & Associates at 405-773-9800 to set up a consultation with our Oklahoma City estate planning firm now.
With over 30 years of experience in the field of estate planning, J. Michael Entz is passionate about helping people like you make the most of their legacy. With experience working for the Oklahoma Tax Commission and teaching courses on estate planning and trusts, he and the other estate planning attorneys at Entz Burton & Associates are poised to help you with your most complex estate planning needs.
Why Estate Planning is So Important
There are so many misconceptions swirling around estate planning that it can be difficult to sort out fact from fiction. Many people still believe that estate planning is only for those in the later stages of life or those who have substantial assets to manage. The fact is that everyone benefits from an estate plan, no matter how much or how little they have. As far as age goes, everyone hopes to live a long and full life, but life is unpredictable. No matter when the end comes, you want to make what comes next as easy for your loved ones as possible.
It’s also important to remember that an estate plan does not just plan for death. Should you become incapacitated, it’s important that your financial matters are handled in a responsible way—and that your health care wishes are respected. Working with an Oklahoma estate planning lawyer can help you think about what matters most and how you want to make sure your preferences are respected.
Your Family May Have to Make Some Tough Decisions
If you become incapacitated or pass away without an estate plan, you may put your surviving loved ones in a position where they have to make painful decisions. For example, imagine that you fall into a coma and are kept alive by ventilators. A thorough estate plan would outline how much lifesaving care you want and when you want to go in peace. Without those wishes documented, surviving relatives are left to guess at what care you may want—and when they have conflicting beliefs, fights may erupt.
When you pass away, you can expect your loved ones to have strong feelings about how your assets are handled. An estate planning law firm will ensure that assets are handled in a way that respects your wishes. Without those wishes documented, grieving family members may be pitted against each other.
Intestate Succession Laws
Without an estate plan, your assets will be governed by the intestate succession laws in your state. In Oklahoma, someone who passes away with a surviving spouse and one child will leave half of their assets to the spouse and half to the child. Those with more than one child leave one-third to their spouse, and the rest distributed to the children equally. Intestate succession laws get more complicated from there, particularly for people who have children with previous spouses, no children, or no immediate family members. Some estate planning lawyers say that when you have no estate plan, the state decides it for you—so you may as well work with an estate planning attorney who will make a plan that suits your preferences.
Family Disputes and Probate
Even if you have a will, your estate will go through probate. However, a will can at least streamline the process and limit the risk of family disputes that cause more harm to loved ones who are already caught up in grief. Additionally, there are estate planning tools that can allow many of your assets to bypass probate, which is often a preferable outcome for those who want to make things as easy as possible for their loved ones.
Start Your Estate Plan With Entz Burton & Associates
Wherever you are in life, it’s always the right time to plan for the future with an estate planning law firm. Choose the team at Entz Burton & Associates to handle your affairs and draft the estate plan that honors everything you’ve built in life. Call us at 405-773-9800 or get in touch online.
Attorney J. Michael Entz at Entz Burton & Associates is an experience lawyer in estate planning law, business formation and asset protection serving the families in Oklahoma City and Weatherford office.
