Blog Posts in 2016
The majority of Americans understand the reasons why they need a will. After all, most adults are very familiar with wills, but less people understand living trusts. Often, estate planning attorneys ...
Continue reading "Why You May Want a Living Trust" »
Posted on Dec 20, 2016 By
Let’s say that your close family member or friend passed away and you were surprised to learn that he or she named you as the executor of their will. You may be honored to take on the job, or ...
Continue reading "Should You Accept the Job of an Executor?" »
With the divorce rate in the United States averaging around 50 percent, it’s understandable why we have millions of blended families. Since there are so many complicated family situations, a lot ...
Continue reading "Inheritance Rights of Stepchildren" »
Posted on Nov 15, 2016 By
After someone passes away, an executor or personal representative will be appointed to administer their estate during probate proceedings. The executor/personal representative will gather the ...
Continue reading "Executors and Breach of Fiduciary Duty" »
Relationships between parents and their adult children can be complicated, especially when a relationship has soured due to parental alienation or a divorce. In the United States, a parent can take ...
Continue reading "Importance of a Will When Disinheriting Children" »
Posted on Oct 18, 2016 By
When someone passes away, the probate process is usually straightforward. Once the decedent’s debts and taxes are paid off, the remaining assets are distributed to the heirs of the estate. Once ...
Continue reading "What if an Heir Cannot Be Located?" »
A lot of parents don’t talk to their children about their assets, and it’s understandable. In the United States, it’s usually not polite to talk about a person’s wealth, and ...
Continue reading "Should You Tell Your Children About Their Inheritance?" »
Posted on Sep 20, 2016 By
A large percentage of American workers have a retirement account of some sort, whether it’s an IRA or a 401(k), therefore, it’s important to know how to properly plan for these assets in ...
Continue reading "Inherited Retirement Accounts 101" »
Carrying out the job of an executor is no easy task. At first, it seems like an honor, but as time passes the executor soon realizes that it’s not all sunshine and roses. When people write their ...
Continue reading "Common Mistakes Made by Executors" »
Posted on Aug 23, 2016 By
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If you are like most people, you want to leave as much money as possible to your spouse, children, grandchildren or other heirs, and you want to limit court costs and legal fees as much as possible so ...
Continue reading "How a Living Trust Avoids Probate" »
In April of 2016, Prince died without a will, meaning Prince died “intestate.” Considering the size of Prince’s estate, it could take years to sort out. The fact that Prince died ...
Continue reading "Why We Put Off Estate Planning" »
Posted on Jul 26, 2016 By
Divorce is difficult, whether you’ve been married for 5 years or 25, but it’s especially hard on couples who have been married for decades, who spent years putting money into savings, ...
Continue reading "Estate Planning After a Grey Divorce" »
Posted on Jul 12, 2016 By
Are you divorced, remarried, or widowed? If so, estate planning will be extra tricky. If you’re one of the millions of Americans who are in a blended family situation, you will simply have more ...
Continue reading "For the Blended Family, Estate Planning is Tricky" »
Posted on Jun 28, 2016 By
If you have been appointed as an executor of an estate, you may be wondering if you really need a probate attorney. A job well done as an executor means you need to be good at math, and you must pay ...
Continue reading "Should Executors Hire Probate Attorneys?" »
Posted on Jun 14, 2016 By
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living (ACL), in 2014, the older population (individuals 65 and older) was 46.2 million in the United States ...
Continue reading "Why Medicaid Planning is a Must" »
Posted on May 31, 2016 By
In our litigious society, we are all vulnerable to being sued, especially those with significant assets. If you happen to work in a field where lawsuits are commonplace, for example, you’re a ...
Continue reading "Shielding Your Assets From Lawsuits" »
Posted on May 17, 2016 By
Probate is a court-supervised process where a decedent’s will is validated, an executor or personal representative is appointed, and the decedent’s affairs are wrapped up – all under ...
Continue reading "What Probate Has to Do With You" »
If you are about to begin the estate planning process, you may be thinking ahead to probate and wondering, “Should I arrange my estate so that it avoids probate altogether?” This is a good ...
Continue reading "Why Do People Avoid Probate?" »
Posted on Apr 19, 2016 By
If you are an heir or beneficiary to an estate, you may have imagined that receiving an inheritance is much like it’s depicted on film. The decedent’s heirs gather in the attorney’s ...
Continue reading "Advantages of Probate Administration" »
In June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court made history when it decided that same-sex couples could legally marry in all states, but this landmark decision did not resolve all the financial issues faced by ...
Continue reading "Same-Sex Couples & Planning for the Future" »
Posted on Mar 22, 2016 By
About half of all first marriages end in divorce. With that in mind, there is a strong probability that you are a stepparent, your spouse is, or your ex has remarried and your son or daughter is in a ...
Continue reading "Estate Planning for Your Blended Family" »
Probate is a court-supervised process where an executor or personal representative pays off the decedent’s debts, transfers legal title of the decedent’s property to the heirs, pays the ...
Continue reading "Mistakes Made By Personal Representatives" »
Posted on Feb 23, 2016 By
When you die, what will happen to the songs you downloaded on iTunes? Will your Facebook account stay floating in cyberspace long after you’re gone? As our society becomes more technologically ...
Continue reading "Estate Planning: Protecting Digital Assets" »
Today, there are more singles than ever before. With the divorce rate being 50 percent for first marriages and even higher for second and third marriages, it’s not surprising that America has a ...
Continue reading "Estate Planning for Singles" »
Posted on Jan 26, 2016 By
By drafting a will, you’re telling the world whom you want to receive your assets after you pass away. If you die without one, it’s up to the state to decide who gets what, regardless of ...
Continue reading "Reasons to Consider a Pour-Over Will" »
Posted on Jan 12, 2016 By
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