Category: Estate Planning

Estate planning involves disclosing sensitive information about assets, beneficiaries, and family dynamics. Privacy safeguards this information from being accessed by unintended parties, protecting individuals and families from potential exploitation or harm. Privacy in estate planning can help prevent conflicts among family members. Discretion regarding asset distribution and inheritance can mitigate jealousy, resentment, or...

Asset protection is an important part of comprehensive estate planning. Its primary objective is to protect an individual's assets from potential creditors, lawsuits, and other unforeseen liabilities. Combining estate planning with asset protection ensures not only the distribution of one's assets according to their wishes upon death, but also the preservation of...

Estate planning for blended families can be complex, especially given the unique challenges and dynamics involved. A "blended” family typically refers to a family where at least one of the spouses has children from a previous marriage or relationship. We have all heard of situations where one spouse dies in a second...

Overview of Different Trusts Used in Estate Planning in North and South Carolina Trusts are used in estate planning to manage and distribute assets according to the grantor's wishes, often with the intent to minimize taxes, protect assets, or control how assets are distributed after death. They are legal arrangements where one person (the...

Parents, have you put an estate plan in place? Estate planning is important for everyone, but there is an added layer of importance when it comes to parents. To really explain why it is so important for parents to put an estate plan in place, let’s take a look at what parents can accomplish...

The personal representative of an estate serves an important role as they are tasked with managing the administration of a decedent’s estate. This involves gathering and managing the assets of the estate, notifying creditors, paying valid debts of the estate, and more, all while upholding their fiduciary duties. Not everyone is up to...

After we die, we hope that our legacy lives on. This can mean a lot of different things, but many like to leave something to help support their loved ones after they are gone. The thought of leaving a lump sum inheritance to your children or other loved ones, however, can be uncomfortable. After...

If you have begun your estate planning journey, you have probably thought about or addressed the distribution of your biggest assets. It is likely that you have planned for those things that have either great financial worth, great significant worth, or both. What about everything else? Think of the things we accumulate over...

There is no doubt about it, estate planning has a lot of moving parts. As you work your way through the many facets of estate planning, be sure to keep reminding yourself who you are doing this for. Yes, estate planning will provide you with many vital protections. It will also provide your...

Over the past few pandemic years, Americans have had to confront some uncomfortable ideas about what they knew or thought they knew about their health and safety. Unfortunately, sudden illness does strike. The unforeseen, as well as the foreseen, does happen. Despite the tough realities we have all grappled with in recent years, a...