If the last time you and your spouse updated your estate plan was more than a decade ago, your estate plan may contain what is sometimes referred to as AB trust planning, which, until 2011, was the a primary way married couples could ensure that both were taking advantage of their Continue reading
Trusts are widely used in estate planning to protect and transfer a person’s assets (money, accounts, property, etc.), sometimes in a tax-advantaged manner. Some trusts are highly complex, with multiple parties, intricate structures, specialized legal terms, and references to arcane Continue reading
Money and property may be the most discussed types of wealth that a person owns, but also consider other family wealth that may mean even more to your loved ones down the line. Your family wealth — family traditions, wisdom, life lessons, experiences, can be built into your estate Continue reading
If you are reading this, you need an estate plan. Why? The short answer is that everyone age 18 and older needs an estate plan. It does not matter whether you are old or young, have built up considerable wealth or are just entering adulthood—you need a written plan to control what Continue reading
Estate planning is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your loved ones and ensure your wishes are honored. There are two general approaches to planning — a will-based plan or a trust-based plan. While both serve to distribute your assets after your passing, they Continue reading
Many believe that estate planning is just deciding what happens to your assets when you pass away, but the reality is that proper estate planning can do much more. While your estate plan should address what happens after you die, your plan should also address what happens when the Continue reading
Are you recently married? Now is the perfect time to start working on an estate plan. As newlyweds, you are likely in the process of deciding which of your accounts and assets to combine and how to turn two households into one. You may also be setting up new bank accounts and creating Continue reading
A common do-it-yourself approach to attempting to avoid probate that many have heard of is to add children or other individuals to the property title as joint owners with rights of survivorship. When joint owners have survivorship rights and one joint owner passes away, the remaining Continue reading
You regularly check the balances of your retirement, bank, and investment accounts. But when was the last time you checked the beneficiary designations on these and other accounts?
It may have been years since you first opened an individual retirement account, bought a life insurance Continue reading
In discussions about estate planning, you may have heard terms such as “guardian” or “trustee.” These are the names given to those who will ultimately be tasked with caring for your minor child or managing funds for their benefit. Choosing who would act in these important roles is Continue reading
Studies consistently find that only about 25–35 percent of Americans have an estate plan, a shockingly low rate when you consider that, in the absence of a plan, the state—not you or your family—decides what happens to your assets, including your business interests.
Recent surveys Continue reading
What memories come up when you think back to a beloved grandparent who has passed? You might remember Grandma at her at her home or at the family vacation house during the holidays. Your memory could be of that oatmeal that only she could make in that special way. Or maybe you remember Continue reading
We make hundreds of decisions for ourselves every day—from what to eat to where to vacation. However, what happens if you cannot make decisions for yourself? Who do you want making day-to-day decisions on your behalf and controlling your financial matters?
If you have recently created Continue reading
When establishing a revocable living trust, it is common to name yourself as the initial trustee, allowing yourself to continue to manage your financial affairs while you are alive and well. However, someone else will eventually need to step in to administer your trust when you are Continue reading
When you establish a trust, one of the important decisions you make is choosing the trustee. If you are creating a revocable living trust, you will likely be the initial trustee. You also will name successor or backup trustees to step in and manage the trust’s affairs if you can no Continue reading
If you have established a revocable living trust, congratulations! You are on the right track in creating a comprehensive estate plan. However, you have only begun your trek. While many people believe that because they took the time to create a trust, their estate will automatically Continue reading
It is difficult to imagine the tragedy requiring that someone else raise your children. However, you must consider who you would choose to fill this important role. Otherwise, a judge—a stranger who does not know you or your wishes, your child, your relatives or friends—will determine Continue reading
You may think that if you die while you are married, everything you own will automatically go to your spouse and children. Such a transfer is not automatic, however. Michigan, like all states, has a set of laws that apply to someone who dies intestate, without a will. While the specifics Continue reading
People often consider adding a spouse or family member to their bank account or real estate as a form of estate planning. Joint property ownership is easy to set up. It can be established at the bank when opening an account, through the title company when buying real estate, or by Continue reading
The relationship between spouses is special in all contexts, not the least of which in the area of estate planning. In many instances, you can exclude people from your estate plan, including your parents, siblings, and adult children. But there are special protections built into the Continue reading
Planning for your pets in your estate plan is an excellent way to ensure that your beloved pet will receive proper care and attention after you pass away. Because you will not be there to ensure that your wishes are carried out, it is critical to create a comprehensive estate plan Continue reading
Estate planning is about protecting what is important to you. Although much of the traditional estate planning conversation focuses on surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, and charities, many pet owners wonder what could happen to their beloved pets after their death.
A pet Continue reading
There are two primary options for leaving an inheritance to a beneficiary. The most straightforward is to give it to them in a single lump sum, with no strings attached. However, this might not be the best option for many beneficiaries. You may be concerned about the beneficiary’s Continue reading
Estate planning involves planning for time that you may be incapacitated and the time following your death. Many things can change that affect your plan — your family, the economy, the law, society. Change can happen rapidly and unexpectedly, affecting your careful estate planning Continue reading
Fewer people are creating estate plans today than in years past. Research shows that, in 2024, less than one-third of Americans report having a will.[1]
Every adult over the age of 18 should have some form of estate planning – incapacity planning in case of accident or illness and Continue reading