An estate is the total value of everything we own – and business and personal assets can add up quickly. All people have estates; and whether they realize it or not, they also have estate plans. An estate plan can be designed by clients and their professional advisers to achieve the client's personal and financial objectives. Or, it can be an arrangement imposed upon survivors by state intestate succession laws if someone dies without a valid, up-to-date will. Even though a will is the most basic estate planning tool, two out of three Americans die without one.*
A comprehensive estate plan can arrange the ownership, management, and distribution of assets in ways that meet needs and objectives while minimizing estate shrinkage. Without such a plan, the disposition of an individual's estate is left to the courts, not the wishes of the individual.
Estate Settlement & Distribution
Estate transfer is a legal right that can be exercised only by following specific legal procedures designed to protect the rights of the deceased's heirs. Estate settlement, as this process is called, involves the assigned executor making an inventory of the person's business and personal assets, paying all debts and claims against the estate, identifying the legal heirs of the remaining estate assets, and distributing those assets accordingly.
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