Estate planning is the crucial procedure which an individual or groups of people particularly families make legal arrangements for the transfer of assets in anticipation of the inevitability of death. The term estate is broad and pertains to the total personal and real property of an individual before the actual distribution by means of a will or trust.

Estate planning is important because it allows people to make certain that the people that they care for will be adequately provided for upon their passing. When it comes to this type of law, one will encounter Estate tax and Gift tax. This former type of tax will be based on the fair market value of the included properties of the taxpayer at the time of death while the latter will be based on the fair market value of the properties at the time of the donation.

Real property will usually include items such as bank accounts, household furnitures, appliances and vehicles, if any. It is important to accomplish proper and diligent estate planning to be able to efficiently distribute the personal and real property of an individual to his or her heirs and ultimately prevent legal disputes from occurring in the future.