Category: Estate Planning

Have you put an estate plan in place yet? A strong estate plan does more than plan for the distribution of your assets after you die and, while asset distribution is important, there are other elements of estate planning that are critical as well. An estate plan can protect your wishes for your loved...

Do you have an estate plan in place? Have you included a revocable trust to take advantage of the potential creditor protection it can offer beneficiaries as well as being a way to avoid probate? That’s right. A revocable trust can be used as one strategy to avoid probate. This can be great news...

A revocable trust, also commonly known as a living trust, is an estate planning tool with a variety of potential benefits. To establish a revocable trust, the testator, the creator of the trust, designates a trustee and transfers ownership of certain assets to the trust. The trustee is then responsible for managing the trust...

When thinking about what you can accomplish with an estate plan, you may have some of the basics covered. You have a will which can distribute your property to who you want and also name a guardian for any of your minor children. You may have advance directives such as living will and...

We all hope to live long, healthy lives where we remain physically and mentally able to take care of ourselves and effectively communicate our wishes every step of the way. Life is, however, full of twists and turns. Some of them are expected and some are unexpected. None of us are immune from sudden...

Does your aging parent have a comprehensive estate plan in place? Comprehensive means that, while it likely involves the establishment of a will, there are other critical estate planning documents in place as well. A comprehensive estate plan can be important at any age, but may become even more critical as we age....

Moving can be a great adventure! Sometimes a change of scenery and a new place to grow roots can be the start to an exciting new chapter of your life. As you embark on your fresh start, you likely have a long list of things to get done. There will be the logistics of...

Estate planning includes much more than plans for after you die. In fact, many important legal tools that are included in a comprehensive estate plan provide protection for you and your wishes while you are still alive. The health care surrogate and power of attorney documents are two such examples. With a health...

While you might not necessarily think of estate tax is a hot news topic, it has been recently. This has been, in large part due to the “For the 99.5% Act” that Senator Bernie Sanders proposed on March 25, 2021. The sweeping changes in estate planning law that would be made should this...

Have you ever heard of the elective share? While many have not, it can have significant impact on a person’s estate plan. Established in state legislatures across the U.S., elective share laws work to protect the right of a surviving spouse to inherit. Here, we will discuss the elective share in more detail. What...