How Do I Know if I Need an Estate Plan?

“Everything dies baby that’s a fact.”
.                 ....  -Bruce Springsteen, Atlantic City.

You will need an Estate Plan when you die. When you die someone needs to care for your minor children, gather your assets, pay your liabilities, and distribute anything that is left to those who survive you.

You may need an Estate Plan before you die. For instance, if you become incapacitated and have bank accounts, vehicles, real estate, or other assets and liabilities.

It is so apparent that everyone needs an Estate Plan that state governments have made a plan for everyone who dies owning property and does not make an Estate Plan for themselves. The plan made for you if you do not have your own is called the statute of descent

descent and distribution. In Ohio that statute is located at O.R.C. 2105.06. It describes who will receive the property you own at the time of your death if you do not have other plans in place.

While the statute of descent and distribution describes who receives your property, other statutes describe who will control your estate from the time you die until your estate is administered through probate court. Still other statutes describe what happens to your property and who controls it if you become incapacitated.

If you do not make decisions for yourself, the government has made decisions for you. Maybe you should schedule a meeting with Ison Law to see if you like the plan the government made for you or you prefer to make your own decisions.

ISON LAW • 10348 Sawmill Road, Powell, Ohio 43065 • (614) 336-3083 • isonlaw.com