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Every person, young or old, who has a family or owns property, needs an estate plan. A good estate plan will allow a person to reach desired economic, legal, and personal objectives.
Death is unpleasant to talk about and we tend to avoid those conversations or assume we will live forever, but death is inevitable. You will rest easier and your family will benefit greatly if you will take time to develop an estate plan.
What is Estate Planning?
Estate planning is providing for the desired personal, economic, and legal consequences in the accumulation, conservation, and distribution of your property. It is the process of arranging for the well-being of your family and the use of your property to accomplish your objectives while you are living and after your death. It is choosing from among the many alternatives that are available to secure your financial future, especially during retirement, and perhaps preserve an estate for your heirs after payment of debts, taxes, and other settlement costs.
Estate planning is complex and requires knowledge in federal and Ohio estate taxation, wills, insurance, methods of owning property, forms of business organization, trusts, and more. It involves consideration of the amount and type of your property, forms of property ownership, and plans for its transfer. Retirement plans, arrangements for estate liquidity, concern for your children's futures, planning to meet family objectives, and many other factors must be considered. Obviously, this publication is not intended to serve as legal counsel. Rather, it is to help you think objectively about the consequences of alternative ways of using and disposing of your estate.
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
What would happen if your estate had to be settled tomorrow? Would your spouse be able to maintain a satisfactory standard of living? Would an adequate education for your children be assured? Who would receive your property if after your death your spouse remarried-your children, the second spouse, a business partner? Will your plan be followed, or would it be the plan provided by Ohio law? These questions and others can be specifically answered in your estate plan.
People spend a lifetime accumulating an estate but are often "too busy" to spend a few hours planning for its conservation and orderly transfer for maximum satisfaction for them and their families. A few hours of planning now may save your family thousands of dollars in settlement costs, needless delay, and unnecessary family discord.
Develop a Plan for Your Situation
Your plan needs to be tailored to your resources and to your family needs. Unfortunately, many families cannot come to grips with these challenges because they either are not aware of the present day cost of not planning, afraid of what they think is a complex subject, or wary of outsiders who seek to help develop a plan.
Actually you are unconsciously developing part of your estate plan every time you acquire property, decide how it will be held, or purchase insurance. If you do not have a will, the Ohio Statute of Descent and Distribution will be followed for property that is subject to probate. This plan for property distribution may or may not agree with your family needs. For non-probate property, the way the property is owned or the designated beneficiaries will dictate the distribution. These plans also need careful attention.
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Who needs an estate plan? 
