If you become incapacitated, your living will provide instructions regarding medical preferences. Incapacity can happen for many reasons, including an accident, an illness rendering you too sick to communicate, dementia, anesthesia, a stroke, a coma, and more. While you are…
Family values and assets can be difficult to address and legally formalize, especially if parents wait too long to begin instilling them. Undoubtedly the best time to teach and empower your children as eventual inheritors of your family legacy is…
An estate will details who will receive a deceased person's property and which person (called the executor) will be responsible for settling the estate after death. For many reasons, beneficiaries can feel slighted by what they did or didn’t receive,…
Even though probate sounds expensive and complicated, it is a standard legal procedure that describes how estate assets pass from one family member to another. Whether or not you require probate depends on the type of property and how you…
Due to an anticipated decrease in the federal estate tax exemption allowance, it may be time to rethink how you plan to pass generational wealth to your heirs. Senate Democrats are proposing to lower the current estate tax exemption from…
It has become more important than ever to have a will, a living will, and perhaps even a living trust as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. Still, this knowledge is not translating into estate planning action.…
Americans with special needs who are five years of age or older comprise the largest minority group in this country. The majority of federal and state benefits available to help persons with disabilities are needs-based, meaning income and assets are…
During your lifetime, you spend the first part trying to attain financial security and the second part working to maintain it. This adage is why many people spend substantial time and effort maximizing their legacy goals in their estate plan,…
The passing of a spouse is not only a very emotional challenge but can be financially difficult as well. It is common for one spouse to handle family tax and estate plans, and a widow(er) may be looking at a…
A client asked us this interesting question: After my brother died, he left money in a revocable trust for my children – but they could only get that money if they spent it on a trip to Tanzania to visit…