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What Is Summary Probate?

This is a more streamlined version of probate, available in some cases to executors who are managing a small estate. Not only does this option offer an executor the chance to save a great deal of time and finances, but summary probate saves money and time for surviving relatives as well. As always in estate planning, state laws dictate the ...
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The #1 Estate Planning Goof-Up

When you are planning for the future of your estate, you want to make sure you cover all of your bases. There is one common mistake that many Americans make. This seemingly simply mistake can eventually lead to devastating consequences when you pass away and your heirs prepare to inherit your estate. This major mistake is a simple one. Many ...
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Who Is Responsible for Paying Estate Debts?

If you are an executor or the relative of someone who has passed away, you may start to worry as you open bills in the mail, wondering if you are going to have to personally pay these costs and estate debts. The good news is that usually, you don't have to. Usually, the estate property goes toward paying any estate-related costs and any debts ...
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The Best Approach to Leaving an Inheritance to Children

Are you planning on leaving an inheritance for your children when you pass on? According to Accenture, Baby Boomers will leave their children an estimated $300 trillion. This number will rise and fall depending on the economy, the markets, and more. If you are planning to will your assets to your children, you will want to manage your child's ...
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Trusts for Education

An educational trust enables you to leave money for a beneficiary's learning. But even if you have thought it through and realize that you are able to, and that you want to leave a loved one the funds to pursue an education, you will have to answer some other questions first. This includes questions about timing. An educational trust could be a ...
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The Responsibilities of an Executor

Have you been named the executor in a will or in another situation? If so, you need to know what you are committing to. The law does not require that an executor be a lawyer or have legal and financial expertise. If you have been named executor, you will need to be honest and trustworthy. The executor will be trusted to honor a decedent's last ...
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An Overview of Health Care Directives

A health care directive is a document that enables you tell loved ones and medical professionals alike about the kind of treatment you want in the event that you should not be able to express those desires for yourself. State laws will affect the names of these directives, but here is a general look at the different types of health care directives ...
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Selling an Inherited Home

Did you inherit property as a part of an estate plan? If you are an heir with a new home, then you will need to determine whether you want to keep the property or sell it. Many individuals who already have a home of their own choose to sell a decedent's home. This can be emotional, as it may mean depersonalizing the house and removing your ...
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Estate Planning Tips for 2014

It's a new year, which means that it may be time for you to review your estate planning or make sure that you have accounted for all of the changes that may have occurred in 2013. For example, if you had a baby, and your previous heir, a nephew, disowned your family, you will have to make alterations to any will that you already had in place. ...
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Shielding Your Estate from Creditors: Can Revocable Living Trusts Do the Job?

When people set up their living trust to safely pass down their property and assets to beneficiaries, they certainly do not want anything from their estate to go to plaintiffs in a lawsuit or creditors coming to collect debt. And they think that their living trust will keep their property safe from claimants. That is far from guaranteed, however. ...
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Transferring Real Estate with a "Lady Bird" Deed

Do you want a beneficiary to inherit real estate without the hassle of the property going through probate? One of your options is a "Lady Bird" deed, also known as an "enhanced life estate" deed. This type of deed can be an efficient and affordable way to pass down real estate. Of course, there will also be some disadvantages to ...
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When a Will Won't Work

If you have been drafting a will, it is important to note that this official document cannot accomplish every single thing that you may desire to do regarding your estate plan. You may want to make multiple documents that will secure the future of your assets, as a will can only handle some of the legal actions you may want to take. You can't ...
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Who Can be the Trustee in Your Living Trust?

If you choose to use a living trust as a part of your estate plan for the future, then you will be required to appoint a trustee. The trustee that you appoint will be required to manage your financial affairs on your behalf when you designate that the individual has the power to do so. The trustee will be required to collect income, pay taxes on ...
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Retirement Accounts and Estate Plans

Many people leave funds behind them in a retirement account, so who would inherit this money? Sometimes, thankfully most times, the answer will be straightforward, but in other cases, determining who would inherit this money can be a tricky matter. And even if it is clear who the beneficiary would be, there may be specific rules that oversee ...
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Important Things to Know About Living Trusts

Revocable living trusts are slowly becoming a very popular estate planning option, especially among the Baby Boomer generation. While wills are the most traditional estate planning document, more and more Americans are seeing the value of placing their assets in a trust. In addition to being one of several ways to avoid probate, living trusts may ...
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When a Living Trust Is Not Necessary

While having a living trust carries the wonderful perk of getting out of probate, this will not be a necessity in every estate plan. There are a number of drawbacks and benefits to having this as part of your estate plan, and you will have to weigh for yourself whether or not your specific situation would require a living trust. An experienced ...
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Do You Want to Contest a Will?

If you desire to contest a will, then you are going to want to get the right attorney on your side to help you. Without the right attorney there to assist you, you may end up unable to get your argument across and being able to contest the will effectively. Anyone who wants to revise a will after an author's death must attempt to establish one ...
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Divorce and Your Will

Whether you are a couple who is in the midst of contemplating a divorce amidst the craziness of the holidays, or whether a divorce has already occurred in your past, it is vital to understand how a divorce can affect an estate plan. More specifically, it is important to know what could happen if someone leaves behind a will that was created before ...
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All About Bequests

A bequest is the act of giving property written into a will. Normally, a bequest is used if personal property. Similar to a bequest is a devise, which is a gift of real property, rather than personal property. Bequests are often a part of the probate process. Normally, officials will inspect a decedent's will and determine if there are any ...
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Special Needs Trusts

When you want to bequeath an inheritance to a loved one with special needs, then you want to be sure that you are doing so in a way that does put their Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid benefits at risk. If, for instance, you want to leave them $15,000 in cash, then your loved one would be ineligible to benefit from SSI or Medicaid. On the ...
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Should You Refuse an Inheritance?

It may sound absurd to refuse any inheritance, but in reality there are times where it would be discretionary to turn down a sum of money granted to you from a decedent. There are many reasons why a person may want to disclaim a bequest that he or she is set to receive under the terms of a loved one's estate plan. Heirs who hear that they have ...
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Who Is Included in the Phrase "My Children"?

As simple as it may have sounded to the will-maker, bequeathing property to their children can be a complicated matter if they did not specify these beneficiaries by name. Did they mean stepchildren too? A child whom they gave up for adoption? If someone does not clarify whom they consider their children, this could open up the will to all sorts of ...
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Dealing with Debts After Death

When a decedent passes away, his or her administrators and beneficiaries may be held responsible to cover any debts that need to be paid. Settling the debts of a loved one can prove to be very difficult. Family members can sometimes be required to make important financial decisions on behalf of their deceased relatives during this emotional time, ...
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What Is a Spendthrift Trust?

This is one type of "property control trust", which means that there are conditions or regulations placed on the trust. A spendthrift trust safeguards the property from a beneficiary who could dissipate the inheritance, and to further keep the property out of the hands of the beneficiary's creditors. This could be a way to ensure that ...
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What Is Undue Influence over Making a Will?

There is no way around it; undue influence is an instance of elder abuse. If someone forces their influence on a sick or older person who is creating a will, this is committing fraud and theft, taking away an inheritance from the will-maker's relatives and giving them to the perpetrator. What makes these fraudulent wills tricky is that ...
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