There are few events in life more challenging than facing the loss of a loved one. It can feel like your whole world has been turned upside down or that the lights have been turned off, and you’ve been left alone in the dark. During these challenging times it is most important to turn to family and friends for support and community, but it can also be these trying and vulnerable times that bring out the worst in people. What you need most is the space and time to process your emotions and the right professional to help you through the mourning process.
The sudden loss of a loved one is overwhelming; having to face the complexity of legal affairs during the mourning process can feel insurmountable. This article will provide guidance on navigating the deep waters of grief while simultaneously touching on the sobering reality of navigating the estate’s legal affairs, particularly in scenarios where estate planning was entirely overlooked or an estate planning lawyer wasn’t hired.
Take the Time and Space to Move Through it at Your Own Pace
Remind yourself that no matter how insurmountable it may feel, other people have moved through the mourning process, and you will too. Moving through it won’t happen overnight; it will occur over your own timeline. Allow all the emotions of the different stages of grief to flow through you and allow your body to hold the pain. It may feel like it is breaking you apart, but you will find your body and mind are capable of so much more than you think. As painful as it may be, you will grow from the experience. Remind yourself it doesn’t need to happen immediately, but you will eventually move through all the stages of grief. There is no escaping the mourning process. You will have to go through all the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance at your own pace. Fighting the mourning process will only make it last longer, so instead, allow yourself the time and space to move through your grief.
You deserve all the time and space you need to move through the stages of grief after losing a loved one. Still, oftentimes the practicalities of handling the ramifications of poor estate planning can take precedence when external pressure is mounting to handle the legal affairs. When an estate planning lawyer isn’t hired to help with the estate planning, matters can get complicated. Out-of-date estate planning can leave a potential beneficiary unnamed and cause great familial turmoil. When a professional estate planning lawyer isn’t hired to aid in the estate planning, all manner of more delicate details on the legal affairs, from asset protection to trust administration, needs to be considered for effective estate planning that will keep family connections strong.
You are Not Alone
When your life is turned upside down by a sudden unexpected event like the loss of a loved one, it can be challenging to trust in the reliability of the other constants in your life. But now more than ever, during the stages of grief, you need to turn to the people you love and trust. Just be aware that the circumstances following a loss may bring out sides of people close to you you’ve never seen before, especially when the settling of legal affairs proves more difficult than expected.
It is during hardships when true character shines through, and you may face more harsh realities in addition to grief during the mourning process. When settling financial and legal affairs, family in-fighting can be rife. Poor estate planning is not uncommon, and when it should be the time to honor the life of a mutual loved one, family connections can be tested. When matters are left intestate because no will was ever instated, a probate lawyer will have to be hired to split the estate among relevant parties and handle the complications of the deceased’s estate planning. Not only can this pit family members against one another, it is also a costly affair and takes considerable time. When it is most vital to unite to face the stages of grief together, families can be caught off guard by the unnecessarily consuming bureaucratic issues of poor estate planning.
It’s Okay to Ask for Help
When you experience the loss of a loved one, it can feel like you’re drowning in emotions you never before could have imagined. It can feel impossible to reach out because you don’t know how to express the turmoil within you. Sometimes, all you need to do is allow yourself to feel the raw emotion, but there can come a time when it would be more beneficial to seek professional help. Managing the stages of grief can go beyond emotional distress. Grief is a powerful process, and it can trigger physical changes like loss of appetite, sleep issues, and health problems. There are trained people who understand grief and know how to counsel you through the trauma of losing a loved one. There is no harm in contacting a professional to help you move through the mourning process and accompany you on the journey to healing.
Similarly, you may procrastinate dealing with the legal affairs of the estate because you don’t know where to begin, and you don’t know how to ask for help. Maybe estate taxes were never factored in during the estate planning, and now you’re left neck-deep in tax ramifications that nearly surpass the value of your inheritance. Perhaps you’re facing legal roadblocks when transferring the estate because it’s crossing borders, and these matters were never factored into the estate planning of the deceased. Again, you can reach out to a professional trained in these areas of management who can guide you through the process with their expert knowledge, such as a Reno estate planning lawyer.
Mourning the loss of a loved one can be one of the most painful experiences, but it is not an experience that needs to be processed alone. If you are in the mourning process, it is crucial to allow yourself the time and space to move through the stages of grief at your own pace, but at the same time, recognise when it is time to ask for help. When it comes to navigating the legal affairs of an estate planned without the use of an estate planning lawyer, it is vital to seek professional help.
If you’re in Reno, NV, seeking professional help around the legal affairs of estate planning, visit Kalicki Collier. Their skilled estate planning lawyer in Reno, NV will provide you with all the expert knowledge you need.