Financial planning and estate planning are processes that help protect assets and plan for a person’s future. These processes have separate purposes. An estate lawyer in Ridgeland and a financial planner have specific roles and expertise; however, they both make plans to help their clients achieve essential long-term goals. Keep reading to learn more about how both processes work together:
Financial Planning
Financial planners assess a person’s overall financial health. They review assets such as financial accounts. Then, they work with the client to establish certain long-term financial goals according to their needs and plans. For instance, they can help a client pay for their kids’ college tuition, prepare for retirement, or give their family financial security.
Financial planning includes an approach to managing and growing one’s wealth. Also, it involves analyzing a client’s risk tolerance according to their circumstances. A financial planner may recommend modifications in assets or investments consistent with the client’s long-term financial goals and risk tolerance.
A financial planner does not need to possess a license to give advice. But they need a license if they want to sell investment products like securities, fixed annuities, and life insurance. Also, they cannot offer legal advice or make legal documents associated with having control over a client’s property or asset disposition on their death. These concerns must be handled only by a licensed lawyer.
Estate Planning
Estate planning concentrates on having the proper legal documents to make sure a client’s goals and wishes are implemented. With a thorough estate plan, a person’s assets and legacy are granted to their designated beneficiaries and heirs. Also, the plan designates the individuals who will care for the client’s children and manage their finances when they die or become incapacitated. The documents name the people who will provide for the client’s personal care and make decisions for them as well as relay their financial wishes to their family members.
Without an estate plan, state law will determine who gets what and makes decisions when a person becomes incapacitated. Family members may have to ask a court judge to decide who gets the assets and makes the decisions. Unfortunately, these individuals may not be the ones the client would pick.
The estate planning process requires the involvement of a licensed lawyer. An estate planning attorney will first talk with the client about their goals, concerns, and wishes for themselves and for their family. Then, the lawyer explains how particular legal documents address such matters. If a person decides to have an estate plan in place, the attorney makes documents tailored to the client’s specific circumstances.
