HOWLAND, HESS, GUINAN, TORPEY, CASSIDY, O'CONNELL & BIRNBAUM, LLP
215-947-6240
  • Home
  • Practice Areas
    • Business & Corporate Law
    • Commercial Litigation
    • Construction Law & Litigation
    • Criminal Defense >
      • License Suspension
      • D.U.I. >
        • General Information
        • Blood Alcohol Content
        • Little Known Facts
        • Penalties
    • Elder Law
    • Estate Administration, Litigation & Will Contests
    • Family Law >
      • Custody and Visitation
      • Child Support
      • Spousal Support/Alimony
      • Divorce and Equitable Distribution
    • Personal Injury
    • Real Estate, Zoning & Land Use
    • Wills & Trusts, Estate & Tax Planning
    • Worker's Compensation
  • About Our Firm
  • Our Attorneys
    • David W. Birnbaum
    • Michael W. Cassidy
    • Thomas M. Guinan
    • Bruce D. Hess
    • John R. Howland
    • Dennis R. Meakim
    • George P. O'Connell
    • Richard I. Torpey
    • Remembering Robert G. Hess
    • Our Personnel
  • Client Resources
    • Blog
    • News & Events
  • Contact Us

Why Have an Estate Plan?

12/1/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
The answer to the question titling this post will be unique for each person and set of circumstances. Still, there are several explanations which apply across-the-board for why having an estate plan is so crucial to protecting your interests and the interests of those closest to you.

Estate planning is not just for people with big houses and fancy cars. A common  misperception is that the term “estate” pertains solely to homes or real estate. Quite the contrary! Many people with detailed estate plans do not own homes at the time of their death, many intentionally so. Your estate is the sum of all your assets: your home, personal property, certain retirement plans, pensions, bank accounts, investments, interest in a business, and even debts owed by others to you are all part of your estate. So, even if you don’t own a 5-bedroom home or 50 acres of land, it is still just as critical to have a plan in place to ensure all your property is distributed in the way you intend.

Against this backdrop, here are five major benefits of creating an estate planning instrument such as a will or trust:
  1. Ensures Your Wishes are Followed: If you die without an estate plan, the state you live in determines how your property is distributed. The state’s distribution may not be consistent with what you would have intended if you distributed it yourself. By having an estate plan, you’re in control of your property even after death and can guide the process of distribution in the way you see fit.
  2. Reduces Taxes on Your Property: After death, both federal and state taxes can potentially cut into the property you’ve accumulated over a lifetime of hard-work and sacrifice. This means less money for those you intend it to go to. Having an updated estate plan drafted by an experienced attorney can shield some of this property from state and federal taxes and allow for your beneficiaries to receive the maximum amount allowed by law.
  3. Protects Your Loved Ones from Unneeded Pain: Following death, many decisions still must be made. Creating an estate plan can reduce some of the emotional suffering by laying out your funeral arrangements and expenses so that your family need not make such decisions during these sad times.
  4. Protects YOU: With a properly executed estate plan, you can make decisions in advance in the event you are later mentally or physically incapacitated. Through instruments like durable power of attorneys and living wills, you can designate what you do and don’t want in the event of incapacitation. You can also designate a person you most trust to make the hard decisions if you are no longer able to make those choices yourself.
  5. Accelerates the Process: Distributing property following one’s death can be a long, drawn-out process. Through alternative instruments at your disposal like living trusts, joint tenancies, life insurance, and pay-on-death contracts, you can speed up the process of getting your property into the hands of your designated recipients.

Howland, Hess, Guinan, Torpey, Cassidy and O’Connell, LLP has several attorneys practicing in the field of Estate Planning, including: Richard Torpey, George O’Connell, Michael Cassidy, Thomas Guinan, Bruce Hess,  John Howland, Karen Angelucci, Karen Mavros and Dennis Meakim. For more information on our firm, or to learn about the attorneys and fields of law that will be driving this blog, visit our website to find out more.

Legal Disclaimer
: The contents of this website are intended solely for informational purposes. They neither constitute nor imply an official legal opinion on behalf of Howland, Hess, Guinan, Torpey, Cassidy and O’Connell nor do they establish an attorney-client relationship of any kind. Howland, Hess and O’Connell encourages all readers to seek and consult professional counsel before acting upon the information contained on this site.


0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    About Howland Hess O'Connell
    About Us
    Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition
    Act 33
    Age
    Anti-Texting Law
    Arbitration
    ARD
    Ban The Box
    Business
    Business Entity Sued
    Business Law
    Civil
    Color
    Contract Law
    Contractor Subcontractor
    Corporate Law
    Criminal Defense
    Criminal Law
    Criminal Records
    Drowsy Driving
    DUI
    DUI Checkpoint
    DUI Crackdown
    Education Law
    Elder Law
    Employee
    Employer
    Employment Discrimination
    Employment Law
    Environmental Protection
    Estate Planning
    Expungement
    First Time Offender
    Howland Hess O'Connell
    Identity Theft
    Ignition Interlock System
    License Suspension
    Local News
    Motor Vehicle
    Motor Vehicle Accident
    National Origin
    Neighbor Disputes
    Operation Orange Squeeze
    Penndot
    Pennsylvania DUI
    Power Of Attorney
    Property Law
    Race
    Real Estate Transaction
    Religion
    Sealing
    Sex
    Social Security
    Social Security Disability
    SSDI
    Traffic Violation
    Underage Drinking
    Underage DUI
    Workers' Compensation

    RSS Feed

The law office of Howland, Hess, Guinan, Torpey, Cassidy, O'Connell & Birnbaum, LLP is located in Huntingdon Valley, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and serves clients in Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia County, including the towns of: Abington, Ambler, Blue Bell, Cheltenham, Conshohocken, Doylestown, Elkins Park, Glenside, Hatboro, Hilltown, Horsham, Huntingdon Valley, Jenkintown, King of Prussia, Lansdale Springfield, Montgomeryville, New Britain, Norristown, Plymouth Meeting, Upper Dublin, Upper Moreland, Warminster, Warrington and Willow Grove.

The attorneys at Howland, Hess, Guinan, Torpey, Cassidy, O'Connell & Birnbaum, LLP also serve clients throughout Southern New Jersey including Atlantic County, Burlington County, Camden County, Cape May County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, and Salem County.

Practice Areas

Business & Corporate Law
Commercial Litigation
Construction Law & Litigation​
Criminal Defense
D.U.I.
Elder Law
Estate Administration, Litigation and Will Contests
Family Law
License Suspension
Personal Injury
Real Estate, Zoning & Land Use
Wills & Trusts, Estate & Tax Planning
Worker's Compensation

Sitemap

Home
Practice Areas
About Our Firm
Our Attorneys
Resources
News & Events
Contact Us

Contact Us

Contact us Today!

Connect with Us

Our Attorneys

David W. Birnbaum
Michael W. Cassidy
Thomas M. Guinan
Bruce D. Hess
John R. Howland
Dennis R. Meakim
George P. O'Connell
Richard I. Torpey
Remembering Robert G. Hess

Find Us - Directions

Howland, Hess, Guinan, Torpey, Cassidy, O'Connell & Birnbaum, LLP.
2444 Huntingdon Pike
Bethayres, PA 19006

Phone: 215-947-6240
Fax: 215-947-6254

info@howlandhess.com
Howland, Hess, Guinan, Torpey, Cassidy, O'Connell & Birnbaum, LLP. All rights reserved. Review our disclaimer.
Powered by Toodles Creative Media