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
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
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
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
Thinking about our own mortality and how our loved ones will fare after we pass away can be very difficult. While we all know that we will pass away at some point, this is not something most people like to dwell on. However, by proactively planning and prioritizing your goals, you Continue reading
Wrongful death lawsuits and probate proceedings are both civil legal matters that occur after somebody has died.
When the death of a loved one is caused by another individual or entity, it can lead to the filing of a wrongful death lawsuit and, ultimately, the awarding of compensation Continue reading
Having an estate plan is a great way to ensure you and your loved ones are protected today and in the future. When we create an estate plan, we look at what is going on in your life at that time. But life is full of changes, so it is important to make sure your plan can change to Continue reading
More young adults are currently living at home with their parents than at any time since the 1940s. While there are many different opinions about this trend and the cause of its recent prevalence, the primary motivation for young adults staying at home with their parents is usually Continue reading
Estate planning is more than just planning for what happens after you die. It is just as important to plan for what happens if you become unable to manage your own financial or medical affairs while you are alive.
What happens without an incapacity plan?
Without a comprehensive incapacity Continue reading
Private pension plans have been used in the United States since the late 1800s. Through 1980, nearly 40 percent of Americans were covered by a traditional employer-funded pension. Employer-provided retirement plans have now largely shifted to retirement savings vehicles like 401(k) Continue reading
Death is a personal and private affair that affects the deceased’s close family and friends. However, there is at least one aspect of death that may require state oversight: probate.
Probate is the court-supervised process of either (a) carrying out the instructions laid out in the Continue reading
When creating a will, one of your most important considerations is who to choose to serve as the Personal Representative of your estate.
The role of the Personal Representative is to carry out the instructions that you provide in your will. Any deviation from their specified powers Continue reading
Do you remember any scenes from a movie or television show involving a will, a trust, or the aftermath of a person passing away? While television and movies provide great entertainment, they are not always factual. Even shows based on real events are not entirely accurate. Creators Continue reading
Your mortgage, like much of your debt, does not simply disappear when you die. If you leave a home with an outstanding loan to a beneficiary in your will or trust, your beneficiary will inherit not only the property but also the outstanding debt. They may have the right to take over Continue reading
Avoiding probate is one of the main reasons that many people create a revocable living trust during lifetime instead of relying on a will to transfer their money and assets to their beneficiaries after their death. Probate is the court process that proves the validity of the will Continue reading
A loved one’s passing is challenging on many different levels. In addition to the emotional difficulty of processing someone’s death, there are also the many tasks that must be dealt with, such as going through their various accounts and taking the necessary steps to cancel them or Continue reading
A comprehensive estate plan addresses not only what happens to your property and assets when you pass away, but how to take care of you and your affairs if you become incapacitated. Incapacity planning is not just for those in their older years. An accident or illness can happen at Continue reading
If you own your own business or have accumulated some investment portfolio, it is important that you do as much as you can to protect the efforts of your hard work and dedication. A family limited partnership (FLP) is a strategy worth considering — whether you seek to protect yourself, Continue reading
A living trust is often promoted as a way to avoid probate and the costs, time delays, and loss of privacy that accompany it. Probate is the legal process for proving the validity of a person’s will after their death and appointing the nominated personal representative or executor. Continue reading
Although having a will is a good basic form of planning, planning with a will involves some drawbacks. A primary drawback is that a will does not avoid probate. If you own property such as a house, car, bank account, investment account, or other asset in your name only and you have Continue reading
A big goal in estate planning is to make things easier for our loved ones. A comprehensive estate plan can allow your money, property, and legacies be transferred to your intended beneficiaries in a harmonious, stress-free, and fair process so that your loved ones to grieve and deal Continue reading
For many of our clients, probate is an unnecessary process that we try to avoid. But the probate system is there for those who need it, in some cases because of lack of proper planning and in others because of the benefits and protections that probate may offer. The probate system Continue reading