Should You Serve as a Trustee?
It’s an honor when your friend or family member asks you to serve as their trustee. What that means is that they are entrusting you to properly handle key assets upon their death—suggesting that they view you as someone who is trustworthy and responsible. With that said, serving as a trustee isn’t something you should […]
Innocent Mistakes That Can Foil Your Estate Plan
As general advice, we’d say it’s always best to establish an estate plan early in life; that way, you can work out any wrinkles and avoid having any surprise estate planning mistakes down the road. Even these “early adopters” can face issues, however, sometimes due to perfectly innocent mistakes. It’s important to take care of […]
10 Simple Steps to a Foolproof Estate Plan
Many individuals never think about how their possessions will be distributed once they die—perhaps because they simply lack knowledge about how estate planning is supposed to work. In this post, we’ll provide 10 simple steps you can use for creating an estate plan—and while these steps don’t cover every possible contingency, they will certainly provide […]
Estate Planning for New Parents
Estate planning is all about preparing for the future—and that means more than just ensuring your finances are in order. It means being certain that the people you love and care for will be fully supported, even if you die unexpectedly. For new parents, there are some obvious implications here. Simply put, if you’ve had […]
Ask Your Attorney for Help with Understanding Living Trusts
Estate planning is about much more than just having a will. A number of other legal structures and tools can be used to help you protect your legacy—and one of the most common is the living trust. While certainly not the be-all-and-end-all of estate planning, a living trust can help cover some of the basics. […]
Why You Need a Special Needs Trust
When you have someone in your family with special needs, it means you need to take some extra steps to help them live a fulfilling life. Of course, this might include seeing special doctors and healthcare providers. It might also entail some special financial planning. One particular step that’s often helpful is setting up a […]
Which Assets Should You Leave to Your Family?
A big part of estate planning is deciding how you’ll pass along your assets— specifically, deciding which assets to leave to which family members. The more assets you have, of course, the more challenging this becomes. There are a few different factors to consider as you determine how to distribute your assets. In this post, […]
Common Myths About Trusts & Estate Planning
Through estate planning, you can protect your legacy and provide for your family and close loved ones—even after death. It’s much too important to get wrong, so before you begin your estate planning efforts, it’s important to dispel a few common rumors. Estate Planning Myths & Misconceptions “Estate planning is only for the wealthy.” The […]
Common Mistakes in Last Wills
Putting a last will and testament into place is an essential step in getting your estate in order—and if you’ve made a will, you deserve kudos for your initiative. But wait: That doesn’t mean you’re all done. There’s much more to estate planning than simply making a will. In fact, there are many ways in […]
Why a Will is Not Sufficient
One of the most common misconceptions about estate planning is that simply having a will in place is sufficient to dispose of an estate and avoid probate court. In most cases, this simply isn’t true. The will, after all, exists to lay out the individual’s wishes for the distribution of his/her estate—but the will itself […]
