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Some Estate Planning Issues Are Easy to Overlook

Creating a will in Greensboro, North Carolina, is not typically very difficult. As long as you are honest with your estate planning attorney and know what you want to accomplish, a will is a relatively easy legal document to create.

However, there are some issues that many people creating a will sometimes overlook. This is especially true if you use do-it-yourself estate planning and don’t get legal advice from a qualified attorney. Any of these areas can cause serious difficulties to your estate plan if you overlook them, so it is always in your best interest to speak to an estate planning lawyer anytime you want to create a will.

Specific Language

Some people create a will and include terms that sound legal but are, to a court, rather confusing. After you die the Clerk of the Superior Court (North Carolina’s version of a probate court) will have to review your will to make sure it is legal. It may also have to interpret your language to determine what your desires were. If you include confusing language, such as the term “legal heirs,” the clerk may have a difficult time determining what you would wanted.

Asset Protection

A will does not serve as a very useful asset protection device. For example, if you create a will and leave your house to your daughter, that doesn’t guarantee your daughter will be able to inherit it. You could end up losing the house, getting sued and have to sell it, or meet with any number of possible difficulties that could result in your daughter being denied the inheritance. A much better way to protect the asset is to create a trust that will meet your needs.

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