Control How Your Assets Are Distributed
Unless you have taken steps to make other provisions such as creating a trust, a will is the only way to make sure that your property is transferred or disposed of according to your wishes. If you fail to create a will or a trust for the transfer of your assets and property at death, Kentucky law will govern how your assets are transferred and to whom.
These laws are very strict and don’t take into consideration complicated family relationships, second marriages, or one family member’s particular need. If you die without a will, your estate will be what is known as an intestate estate. In such cases, Kentucky laws of distribution would determine the distribution of your assets, and the court’s choices may not align with your choices.
Let our estate planning lawyers at Cooper & Cooper Law Offices, PLLC, help you so you control who gets what, and when they get it!
Why We Should Be Your First Call:
- We are a father and son legal team.
- We have over 50 years of combined experience.
- Attorney Thomas E. Cooper has a BV Distinguished *rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
- We also represent clients in estate administration disputes.
- We handle modest estates and multimillion-dollar estates.
- Attorney Thomas Cooper represents fellow lawyers in their personal matters.
Under Kentucky law, when you die without an estate plan in place, any property that would pass through probate would be distributed under Kentucky’s laws of distribution. Dying intestate could result in your spouse and/or children being left with few resources to live on for their support and day-to-day living expenses.
What’s more, without careful planning and establishing the proper legal documents, your estate could ultimately wind up paying more than necessary in court costs, legal fees, and taxes to state and federal governments.
How Trusts Manage The Timing And Method Of Asset Distribution
Trusts give you the power to decide exactly when and how your beneficiaries receive what you leave them. Instead of giving everything to your heirs all at once, you can build a distribution strategy that matches your goals and safeguards your family’s financial well-being.
You can set up a timeline that releases assets to beneficiaries as they reach certain ages. You might choose to distribute portions at different points – some in their mid-twenties, more in their early thirties and the rest later on. This approach gives younger family members time to develop financial maturity before they handle larger sums. You can also connect distributions to meaningful milestones like earning a college degree, buying a first home or launching a business.
Your trust also shields your distribution plan from public view. Wills go through probate and become part of the public record, but trusts keep your family’s financial matters private.
What Happens To My House If I Die Without A Will In Kentucky?
If you die without a will, Kentucky’s intestate laws will decide who inherits your home. If you are married, the outcome depends on whether you have children. Your spouse inherits your house outright if you don’t have kids or if all your children are also theirs.
But if you have children from another relationship, your spouse only gets half. Your children will inherit the other half, creating a situation where your spouse and children own the property together.
If you’re not married, your house goes to your closest living relatives in a specific order. Your children come first. If you do not have children, your parents inherit it. Then it moves to your siblings, and so on down the line.
Protecting Family Farms And Small Businesses In Central Kentucky
Family farms and small businesses form the backbone of Elizabethtown and its surrounding communities. If you own a farm or business, passing it down without proper planning can put everything you have built at risk.
Your estate might also lack enough cash to cover debts, taxes and other expenses. When this happens, the court may force your family to sell the farm or business to generate funds. Without a clear plan, your heirs could face tax burdens that might have been avoided. The financial strain often forces families to sell off land or dissolve the business just to settle the estate.
Creating a will or trust lets you decide who takes over and how they’ll manage it. You can structure the transfer to keep your operation intact and reduce the tax burden on your family.
Let Cooper & Cooper Law Offices, PLLC, Help You Take Charge!
Don’t leave your loved ones to pick up the pieces of an unplanned estate, call 270-561-6155 or email us, for help! Learn more about our team and visit our client testimonials to learn more about what we do!
*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished, and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.