Do I need a financial advisor for estate planning?
Find out how a financial advisor can assist with wrapping up your estate and its assets after you’re gone.
Summary
Estate planning is important for a number of reasons, including reducing tax burdens.
Your heirs will benefit if your estate is easy to wind up after your death.
Financial planners can provide comprehensive guidance with estate planning, making it a more efficient and cost-effective process.
Unbiased can connect you with a financial advisor to help with all your estate planning needs.
What is estate planning, and why is it important?
A staggering 68% of Americans lack a valid will or any other form of estate planning.
Yet, having a will is essential for successfully wrapping up your estate and assets in the event of death.
Estate planning is the act of putting together a strategy for the division and distribution of your life’s assets after death.
While developing a valid will is a good start, working with a financial advisor to create a comprehensive plan for the outcome of your estate is the best way to ensure it is protected once you are gone and your wishes are adhered to.
Estate planning reduces tax burdens, streamlines crucial document processing and administration, and makes life much easier for your eventual heirs.
If you’ve ever wondered, “Do I need help building an estate plan?" the answer is probably yes. Everyone can benefit from the advice of a professional financial advisor when managing their estate.
Unbiased has a great checklist for estate planning that can help you further understand why it is beneficial to get professional advice in this area.
Who can help with estate planning?
Financial advisors have extensive experience in managing assets, estates, investments, and all other types of finances in a way that serves each client’s best interests, thus making it easier to manage your affairs when you’re gone.
How can financial advisors help with estate planning?
From helping you choose the right coverage plan today to lessening the administrative burden on your heirs tomorrow, there are several key ways that financial advisors provide support and protection.
1. Dividing estate between friends and family
Whether your assets are few or many, dividing them up in a way that you deem fair and responsible is important. A financial advisor is well-versed in the practice of dividing up assets and estate values in a way that is legitimate, culpable, and in alignment with your personal financial goals.
2. Choosing the right coverage plan
There are plenty of different estate planning costs and plans to determine and sort out. But with so many options, choosing the right one can be tough. Hiring a professional to identify the best one for you can save time and money.
3. Gathering essential documents
Having access to the right documents is crucial for the successful wrapping up of an estate. A financial advisor can provide your family with a clear breakdown of everything they need to provide.
4. Reduced stress
Wrapping up the estate of a recently deceased loved one can take a serious toll on your predecessors. Failure to supply the right documents on time, uncertainty about the value or validity of certain assets, and general confusion about the wishes of a departed loved one can all be immensely stressful for families to deal with, but not when you have the expertise of a financial professional to draw from.
5. More accurate distribution of assets
Without a clear-cut plan for how each asset will be distributed among heirs or appointed relatives, wrapping up an estate can get messy – and costly. The structure and legality of an official estate plan mean that the potential for mismanagement, fraud, or other complications is significantly reduced.
Why is estate planning so essential?
All in all, having a plan for your estate is a decision that will benefit your family members and heirs.
When it comes to estate planning, having a professional’s point of view can be extremely helpful, especially if you’re not sure what your options are or what’s best for your circumstances.
With professional guidance, you can rest assured that your will sees your final wishes carried out and that your estate is wrapped up as you wish.
Estate planning also saves time and money when tying up your assets and allows for a smoother, faster, and more seamless conclusion to your will.
How to find a financial advisor
Understanding why estate planning is important is the first step towards successfully wrapping up your will later on in life. You can hire a financial advisor to choose an ideal coverage plan, simplify post-death administration, and minimize disputes after you’re gone.
Get matched with a financial advisor at Unbiased to find out more about creating your own estate plan and get sound financial advice.
Writers
Our team of writers, who have decades of experience writing about personal finance, including investing and retirement, are here to help you find out what you must know about life’s biggest financial decisions.