Oklahoma City Estate Services
The Importance of Planning Your Estate
Estate planning is one of the most important measures you will ever take to protect both your loved ones and your legacy. Unfortunately, far too many people fail to recognize how critical these measures really are until it’s too late.
You go to great lengths during your life to manage your assets and provide for your family. Estate planning is a way for you to continue to take care of them, even if you are no longer around to do so.
Contact McBride & Associates, P.C. today to learn more about our comprehensive services.
How Will Estate Planning Help?
Why plan your estate?
Well, here are just a few of the benefits of a good plan:
- Name Your Beneficiaries - express who gets what if you die, even when and how they are to receive their inheritance.
- Name Your Fiduciaries – pick who will take care of your affairs if you become incapacitated/incompetent or were to die.
- Avoid Expensive Court Proceedings – minimize and even stop probates, guardianships, and court fights.
- Select Guardians – name who will take care of your minor children if you cannot.
- Settle Your Estate Quickly – fast and efficient estate settlement is a crucial benefit of good estate planning.
- Protect Your Business – business succession and continuity planning are an absolute must for every business owner.
- Pick Your Medical Decision-Maker – define who will make medical decisions for you, if you cannot do so for yourself.
For fully personalized guidance from professionals who care, call (405) 896-3615 or contact us online today.
What Is Included in Estate Plans?
Here are just a few of the tools you will likely need as part of your complete estate plan:
Wills
The Last Will and Testament, or “Will” for short, is one of the most common estate planning tools. In it, you to determine who receives your assets upon your death, and who will handle the settling of your estate. Remember, your Will has no legal affect until it is admitted to probate (presented to court in a formal proceeding, called a “probate”).
Trusts
The Revocable Living Trust, or “Trust” for short, is one of the most powerful and effective estate planning tools. You can define in your fiduciaries and beneficiaries, yet you can do much more. There are many types of trusts.
One of the major benefits of trusts are that they don't require the involvement of a court. If properly designed and used, they allow you to avoid expensive and time-consuming probates, guardianships, and possible court fights.
Powers of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a legal tool where one person, called the “Principal,” gives another person, called the “Attorney-in-Fact,” the power to take care of some matter. They are very helpful if you, the Principal, were to ever become incapacitated. This tool is often used in conjunction with your Trust.
Healthcare Directives
Healthcare Directives are actually a collection of legal tools addressing your personal wishes regarding healthcare. They often include a Medical Power of Attorney where you pick someone to make decisions on your behalf if you cannot do so.
Another important tool, called a Living Will allows you to express whether you wish to receive life-prolonging treatment if you hopelessly sick or injured.
Prenuptial Agreement
A Prenuptial Agreement is written contract between two persons, made beforethey are married. This contract defines how certain assets and matters will be handled should the parties ever divorce.
Yet, the “PreNup,” as it is often called, allows to parties to ensure their estates are managed in the way that each wish, if one or both of them were to pass away. So, they are not just for divorce.
Today, Blended Families, where one or both spouses have children from previous relationships, are very common. Blended Families, frequently with the inclusion of Trusts, can greatly benefit from the use of a PreNup.
Business Succession Plans
Business Succession Plans are a collection of tools and strategies to ensure that your business survives and even flourishes if you were to get sick or die. If you have put endless time and money into your business, you are not likely willing to let it die—even if you are no longer the one to manage it.
With an effective business succession plan, you can ensure the person or entity you trust has the rights and responsibilities needed to continue growing your business. You can also ensure an easy transition of the control and ownership of one of you most valuable asset to those you wish to receive it.
These are just a few of the tools we may use to accomplish your estate planning goals. Every person’s estate planning goals are unique, so every plan will require specific techniques and tools to achieve those goals.
How We Can Help
At McBride & Associates, P. C. , our attorneys have a litany of tools we can use to protect your legacy and help you convey your wishes in powerful documents.
To get started, just contact us to schedule a time to discuss your estate in detail. Remember, there's no cost or obligation to meet with us and learn your options. *
*The first hour is free, most initial meetings last about one hour.
An Experienced Team You Can Trust
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Handled Thousands of Cases
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Experienced in Both Consumer and Business Bankruptcy
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Offer Free Initial Consultation*
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Helping Clients Since 1996