NC and SC Estate Planning and Elder Law Firm

A special needs trust can be an extremely valuable estate planning tool. Designed to provide a person with special needs funds to help ensure a certain quality of life is enjoyed without jeopardizing eligibility for need based government benefits, a special needs trust can cover a wide range of expenses on behalf of the beneficiary with special needs. What exactly can the proceeds of a special needs trust be used for? We will take a look at that here.

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 settling into your new home. It may include updating your driver’s license and vehicle tags. It may include updating your mailing address.

Statistically speaking, most of us will need long-term care at some point in our lifetime. Usually, this will occur later in life. Because of this, many people delay thinking about it or planning for it.

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.
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Have you heard of probate? It is the court-supervised process of administering a person’s estate after he or she dies. A notoriously lengthy and costly process, people often seek to establish estate plans that allow for avoiding probate, at least partially. Why can probate be so time consuming? Well, there is a lot that needs to be accomplished during the process.
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The idea of establishing a trust may be intimidating for some people. Trusts have developed a reputation as only being for the wealthy. The truth is, however, that many people could benefit from establishing a trust as part of their estate plans.

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

If you have done any initial investigation into the many benefits of estate planning, you may have read that one of the big potential perks of comprehensive estate planning is that you can put tools in place that help your assets from avoiding probate, in whole or in part. Why is it so great if you can avoid probate? Well, for starters, probate can be expensive. The court fees alone can take a significant chunk out of an estate’s value.
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The personal representative of an estate has a lengthy list of important tasks to accomplish in probate proceedings. In fact, while probate is the court-supervised process that follows in the wake of a person’s death, the personal representative is instrumental in helping to ensure that probate goes smoothly, that everything needed gets done, and that things get accomplished without undue delays and complications. Personal representatives play a significant role in the administration of the estates they are appointed to oversee.

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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.
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The Do It Yourself, DIY, craze persists in the U.S. People are engaging in DIY home renovations, DIY life hacks, DIY arts and crafts, and so much more. What about DIY Read more . . .