Habits of Successful Business Owners: Why They Use Attorneys

If you own a business, you need a lot of professionals to help you along. In some cases, that includes accountants or marketing experts. In other cases, it involves people who understand business process outsourcing. However, almost all business owners need a great business attorney on their side. Just started your business? Interested in growing it and have legal questions? Wondering what a business attorney does? In this blog, I plan to answer all those questions. I hope that you enjoy reading these posts and that they help you. Thank you for reading! My name is Brenda, and I started a small business when I was just 17. Over the years, I have worked with many pros, but my business attorney has helped me the most.

How to Avoid Property Disputes Among Your Beneficiaries

Blog

Following your death, estate division conflict may arise among your loved ones. Such conflict may cause your assets to depreciate as beneficiaries await the outcome of the court process. In this article, you will learn a few tips on how you can avoid such conflict. 

Your will must be legal. 

Engage an estate planning lawyer when drafting your will. He or she will ensure that your will is legal. Some of the elements of a legal will include; 

  • The person writing the will must be 18 years or older; he or she must be of sound mind when writing the will.
  • The will should not be vague or contradicting; state the name of beneficiaries and provide precise details of what each beneficiary will inherit.
  • Appoint an executor to take charge of the probate process; the executor should be someone you trust, and you can also appoint your lawyer as executor.
  • The will should be dated and signed in the presence of two witnesses; preferably, each page should be signed by the testator and witnesses. 

Regularly update your will. 

Various circumstances may prompt you to change your will. For instance, you may divorce your current spouse or have another child. You may also buy a new property, or you may want to place some of your assets in a trust. A codicil is a document that amends the terms of a written will when situations come up. The codicil should be dated and signed by the testator and witnesses. Alternatively, you can discard the old will and write a new one. 

Talk to your beneficiaries. 

The best way to avoid conflict among beneficiaries is by telling them outright what they are set to inherit. Take this step if you are sure that some of the beneficiaries will go to court to refute your will. Remember that there is no law demanding that you share assets equally among beneficiaries. If you live to your senior years, you can share out the assets among the beneficiaries while alive. 

Safely store your will. 

Unscrupulous individuals may destroy or manipulate your will for personal gains. Therefore, you must safely store the document. Leave it with your lawyer or store a copy in your safe or a safe deposit box. Ask your beneficiaries to inform your lawyer once you die. He or she will tell them where they can find the will. 

Inheritance disputes can be lengthy and expensive. To avoid them, ensure that your will is legal, regularly update your will, talk to your beneficiaries and safely store your will. Talk with a lawyer in estate liquidation for help in any step of the process. 

Share

13 May 2019