Blog

Where You Die Matters, If You Want to Minimize Your Heir's Tax Burden Depending on where you die, you may be able to leave a relatively large sum to your heirs, tax-free, since some states have tied their state estate taxes to the federal amount. If you die in 2018 in Hawaii, Maine or Washingto...

What is a Medicaid Annuity? This financial product isn't without some controversy. However, it may be a smart move, and can alleviate worry about your home and income if your spouse needs nursing home care. It's not an unusual scenario: one spouse has moved to live in a nursing home and will ne...

Consider sharing your plans and information about finances with your family now.  Some folks feel the need to let their doctor figure out what's wrong with them, claiming that it's the doctor's job. They're often the same ones who won't tell their heirs everything. However, as Vanguard advises in...

Does Your Estate Plan Include Care for Your Pet? Animal shelters know all too well what happens when plans for pet care are treated informally. If your idea of planning for your animal companion's well-being after you pass is asking a family member if they will take Spot and Flurry, think again...

Wealthy Americans are most likely to be Over 80 Years Old People in their 50s can buy as big a house and as fancy a car as they want, but when it comes to real wealth, that's in the hands of Americans who are 80 and older. When it comes to wealth measured in billions and millions, a recent arti...

If You Have Minor Children, You Must Have an Estate Plan It's heartbreaking, but it does happen: both parents die unexpectedly, and there's no will, and no one has been named a guardian. Who decides who will raise your children? Being a good parent means being responsible for the well-being of ...

How an Estate Plan Protects Your Loved Ones Estate plans perform a number of functions, including conveying your wishes for final care, if you should become incapacitated and appointing people to make medical decisions on your behalf. Everyone needs an estate plan, for their own peace of mind a...

Conversations between estate planning attorneys and clients are as much about how to talk with children about the intentions behind inheritances, as about the legal means of distributing assets. A lifetime spent creating a family and an accumulation of wealth is an admirable accomplishment. The ...

here are certain questions that every estate planning attorney knows will be asked the first time they sit down with clients. Understanding them makes the process easier. Probate is one of a handful of questions that are routinely asked by clients new to the estate planning process. Figuring out...

Staying Connected to a Valued Community through Planned Giving Through the use of a Charitable Remainder Unitrust, the Whitehouses receive lifetime income. At the same time, their beloved university and Calvary Church benefits from their generosity. Getting updates about Bethel University are i...

Michael Jackson: A Case Study in failing to plan for your estate Eight years after his death, the tax liability from Jackson's estate has not been resolved. The numbers are big, and adding up fast.  “Depending on the outcome of the case, Jackson's estate could be on the hook for more than $500 ...

No Kids? You Still Need a Will. Whether you are single, married, have kids or no kids, you still need a will to distribute your assets upon your death, unless you want the state to make all decisions for you. A recent Gallup survey reported in Yahoo Finance, “Estate Planning Is Important for Pe...

For some people, the details of settling an estate provide a welcome distraction from grief, while others find the tasks overwhelming. Regardless of the emotions, there are certain tasks that must be taken care of in a timely manner when settling an estate. The process generally takes about a yea...

I periodically have clients come in who are married couples, but for one reason or another have held their real property and bank accounts in separate names for their entire marriage.  Now it is time to do estate planning, and I often suggest the use of a Revocable Living Trust.   Revocable Livi...

You know that someday you and your spouse will die. But when you are young, it simply doesn't seem possible. Here are some tips for coping with an unexpected loss of a spouse. There are many different kinds of grief, but when a spouse dies at an exceptionally young age, it is hard to know how to...

How to Plan for Adult Children When Not All Are Responsible Adults We love our children equally, but we recognize that they handle money differently. Can we protect the ones who lack financial discipline from squandering their inheritance? Few families can say that all of their adult children a...

Understanding How Revocable Trusts Are Used In Estate Planning The use of trusts in estate planning is not just for Rockefeller-sized estates. However, knowing the correct trust to use and when certain changes need to be made requires the help of an experienced estate planning attorney to achiev...

Strategies for Successful Estate Planning for Blended Families Maintaining the integrity of a blended family after one of the spouses passes requires strong estate planning so that inheritance battles don't destroy what often takes years to build. When a spouse passes or a divorce occurs in a b...

We've lost track of how many things in our lives are now easier because they are available online. But certain things – like wills, trusts and estate planning tools – require more than just downloading a form. Using an online legal site may be a useful way to get a look at the fundamentals invol...

Be wary of any salesperson who stands to profit handsomely from an investment transaction. The stakes are too high to gamble away your nest egg. Here's a cautionary tale: the husband of a retired high school teacher who thought he was going to protect his investment was instead the victim of an ...