*We spoke to Atlanta-based Attorney Amber C. Saunders about the importance of estate planning and how it helps individuals protect their assets and prevent family conflicts.
Many people may not fully understand the challenges that arise when unexpected events occur, often leading to disputes among loved ones. Amber emphasized the need for early education and preparation, ensuring that all business affairs are handled in advance. Our discussion covered topics such as what estate planning entails, real-life examples of its benefits, and how working with a dedicated estate planning partner can provide peace of mind.
So, what estate planning is, and why it’s so important to begin the process before one urgently needs it?
“There are tons of things that could be included in your estate plan, but your estate is everything that you own that’s in your name, your bank account, your clothes, your books,” said Saunders. “All of those things are a part of your quote-unquote estate because they’re owned by you. And technically, if something happens to you, it can’t be transferred to another person to own without you saying so,” Saunders explained.
“And so that’s what all of those documents do. So the will says who you want something to go to, a trust is another way to distribute and give those things away. A healthcare directive tells people what you want done with your body. If you can’t tell them. Power of Attorney is how giving authority to someone to manage finances if you were unable to do so. So it’s all of the things that tell people what you want done if you’re unable to communicate those things yourself.”
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What are some of the common misconceptions people have about estate planning?
“I think the biggest one is, almost every single person who comes into my office says, ‘I really don’t have anything. I don’t have that much. So do I really need to do this?’ There’s no threshold amount. It’s really whether or not you want your family to go through probate court or not,” Saunders said.
“It’s whether or not you wanna have some sort of say so on how your assets are distributed because the probate court, for example, if you have minor children, they’re gonna give them whatever you left to them when they’re 18. I wouldn’t want that 18-year-old going and buying a Lamborghini or doing whatever with the money. If you want some say over how they do it, then you have to set up a trust because then… they can’t go do whatever they want. If you say they have to use it for college, then they have to use it for college because that document dictates how those funds are used,” she added.
“And so people think it’s only for the wealthy. It’s only for people who have a lot of things, but you still own something and your life is much more than the amount of money you have or the amount of assets. You still need to tell someone what to do with your body, what to do with your money, what to do with anything if something happens to you,” she continued.
To learn more about estate planning, watch our full conversation with Attorney Saunders in the video below. You can also visit her website here.
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