Proper estate planning allows someone to protect his or her assets, pass the assets on to his or her heirs, and ensure that the individual’s wishes are carried out correctly after his or her death. However, in today’s society, this process has become more complicated—the assets people own often extend beyond physical property and financial resources. During the estate planning process, it is important to consider digital assets and understand how they can be protected through power of attorney.

What Are Digital Assets?

Digital assets include any information that is stored electronically. These assets can include:

Trusts are a common way to transfer property to family, friends, and charitable organizations. Many people opt to use a trust instead of a will for the distribution of their estates after death.

Trusts are unique from wills. Instead of leaving certain property to heirs, the assets are held and managed by a trustee who will, over time, distribute the assets or the proceeds from the assets to the trust beneficiaries.

While people may be drawn to trusts to avoid the costly and time-consuming probate process utilized in the cases of wills, issues can still arise with regard to trusts. There are numerous types of challenges someone may try to bring in court that could affect your ability to collect from a trust.

If you are concerned that the will of a loved one or family member was signed under suspicious circumstances, it may be possible to challenge the will in court. There are several grounds on which to do this, but one common concern is the capacity of the testator (the person who signed the will) at the time the will was executed.

This can be a difficult case to make, and most of the time these assertions are highly fact-specific, meaning there will be testimony of witnesses and a required review of property and financial documents. Medical records may also come into play.

Lack of capacity is especially common as people are living longer yet may not have all their mental faculties intact. Many attorneys predict that this issue will become more prevalent in the future.

Litigation concerning the handling of a loved one’s estate can be some of the most emotional and contentious legal battles that take place inside the courtroom. Usually, there are multiple parties involved with strong opinions as to how the decedent's property should be handled.

An experienced probate litigation attorney can help protect your rights in this difficult time both in and out of the courtroom.

Procedures and Processes that May Be Involved

By James Lewis

For most people, the idea of estate planning is something that sits at the end of their to-do lists. However, as Warren Buffett said, "Preparation is everything. Noah did not start building the ark when it was raining." Taking the time to seek the advice of a skilled estate advisor takes away the burden of anxiety, uncertainty, and unpreparedness.

The key feature of a well-planned estate is that your decisions and strategies become legally enforceable. To understand how these choices get memorialized, it is important that certain documents are prepared and signed. These documents allow you to prepare for the possibility of incapacity, minimize taxes, avoid the cost and delay of probate court and definitively control the distribution and allocation of your assets.