While understandably not the most pleasant of tasks, planning for the future of your loved ones if anything should happen to you can help to provide you and those closest to you with considerable peace of mind, knowing that everything is taken care of beforehand. Furthermore, effective estate planning can help to protect what is rightfully yours and to prevent the possibility of disputes and conflict among family members or other parties.
Estate planning can involve several different issues, and it’s important to have an attorney on your side with the experience necessary to meet your needs when handling these issues, including the following:
When there are no descendants, an estate goes to the parents. If there are no living parents, then the estate will go to your parent’s closest descendants (siblings first, and then nieces and nephews, etc.) If there are no siblings, nieces, or nephews, then the estate goes to your grandparents or relatives. If these are not living, then the estate goes to the deceased spouse’s descendants. If none of these are living or exist, then the estate will go to the state of Iowa.
No, it doesn’t. It could even save probate expense as less court involvement is needed. If you have good estate planning through a will, this can save your estate and beneficiaries quite a large number of administration costs and taxes. See: http://www.iowabar.org/?page=wills