A lot of people in the Las Vegas-area tend to put off estate planning. After all, most people feel like their lives are pretty simple and that they don’t have the need for a fancy estate plan. But the truth of the matter is that you don’t have to be extraordinarily rich in order to benefit from a detailed estate plan. In fact, if you fail to create one of these plans, then your assets might be distributed in a way that goes against your wishes.
Nevada’s intestate succession laws
In Nevada, like other states, if you pass away without any sort of estate plan, then the State will dictate how your assets will be passed down. If you have a spouse and no children, then your spouse will inherit everything. Likewise, if you have no spouse but children, then your children will inherit everything. If you have a spouse and children, then your spouse will inherit all community property, meaning property acquired during your marriage, as well as half of your remaining estate. Your children will then inherit the half of your individual estate.
Problems with intestate succession
There are several problems with intestate succession, but chief amongst them is the complications that can arise when that type of succession doesn’t line up with your expectations. For example, if you’ve remarried into a blended family and want to only provide for your spouse and your biological children, then intestate succession might jeopardize your children’s ability to inherit those assets that are left to your spouse through intestate succession because your spouse will be free to leave them as he or she pleases in accordance with his or her estate plan.
Obtain the customized plan you need to suit your needs
The best thing about estate planning is that it can be individualized to suit your unique set of circumstances. Therefore, you can choose to leave money to a charity, create a trust to help care for your pet, place restrictions that must be met before trust assets can be disbursed to a loved one, or dictate how the remainder of trust should be redistributed upon an initial heir’s passing.
Again, these are tools that can be used regardless of your amount of wealth. So, if you want to ensure that your assets and your loved ones are protected in the way that you want them to be, then consider discussing estate planning with an attorney of your choosing.