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What’s the Difference Between Estate Planning and Drafting a Will?

Estate planning and drafting a will are two different things. While some people may think they are one in the same, they are actually quite different. Estate planning is concerned with the distribution of your assets while drafting a will is concerned with making sure that your intentions of what you want to be done with your estate are carried out after you die. If you’re unsure of the difference between these two things, here’s an overview of what it means to draft a will during your estate planning process.

What is estate planning?

Estate planning is a process that helps you decide what to do with your estate after you die. It’s always important to make sure that your intentions are carried out in the event of your death.

Estate planning is different than drafting a will. Here, we’ll explain the difference between estate planning and drafting a will so that you’re more informed about how they relate to each other.

Many people think of estate planning as just putting everything in writing, but it’s actually much more complicated than that. Estate planning includes things like:

– Consulting with lawyers and financial advisors

– Choosing an executor for your estate (if needed)

– Determining who gets your possessions after you die

– Creating trust for your children or other beneficiaries

– Making plans for funeral arrangements and final wishes

The difference between drafting a will and estate planning

Estate planning is more than just drafting a will. It’s the process of creating a plan for the distribution of your assets after you die. The goal is to make sure that your beneficiaries are handled in an appropriate manner, and that any debts or taxes are taken care of in order to avoid any potential complications or issues.

Drafting a will doesn’t include estate planning. It’s simply about making sure your wishes for what should happen with your assets after you die are carried out according to your intentions and desires.

While both estate planning and writing a will are important, they are actually quite different. For example, this blog post on estate planning includes information on how to create an estate plan as well as ideas for what types of assets to leave behind when you pass away—things like real estate, stocks, bonds, and retirement accounts—while this blog post about drafting a will discusses how wills can be drafted.

The steps of estate planning

An estate planning process can be difficult and overwhelming. This is especially true if you have extensive assets or a complicated financial situation. The first step to drafting a will is creating an estate plan that will help you decide what you want to be done with your assets after your death.

The next step in the estate planning process is to determine who will be the executor of your estate. An executor manages the overall distribution of your assets when you die and ensures that all of your wishes are followed.

After determining who will be the executor, it’s important to identify a successor on how those assets should be distributed after your death. A successor is a person who will inherit all remaining property from the executor and oversee any further changes to the estate plan after death. It’s important for both successors and executors to sign off on this decision before it becomes final.

Finally, once you’ve created an estate plan that works best for you and designated successors, make sure that everyone has signed off on it before it becomes final by ensuring they have copies of the document with them at all times. If anything happens during this time period, they can sign new documents confirming their intentions before they expire.

Things to consider when making your estate plan

Estate planning is the process of creating a will and making sure that your wishes are carried out after you die. This can include anything from naming beneficiaries to transferring property or last-minute changes.

There are many aspects to consider when drafting a will. Some of the most important things to think about when making your estate plan are:

Where do you want your assets distributed

Who goes into your will as beneficiaries and why

How much property do you want to be distributed

What type of property do you want to be distributed

Your funeral wishes

Important documents for your estate plan.

When you’re drafting a will, you want to make sure that your intentions for the distribution of your estate are carried out. You’ll need to include some important documents in this process, including:

– A power of attorney

– A last will and testament

– A durable power of attorney

– Living will

– Healthcare proxy

– Trust agreement

Conclusion

Estate planning is a process best done by an experienced professional, but there are some important documents that you can draft to help guide your family through the process.

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