Privacy is important, especially in today’s world. Learn how estate planning can enhance or reduce your privacy. Read on to find out more. Basics of Estate Planning: Privacy and Estate Planning … [Read more...]
Do You Need a Living Trust?
Many clients are confused about the role a living trust can play in their estate planning efforts. A trust is created so that assets or property can be moved to the trustee who’s named in the living trust. Many don’t like the idea of relinquishing ownership of their assets, but the benefits are worth consideration for many of those people. It’s not that you’re losing control of your property or assets, it’s still yours. You’re just covering the legal bases in case you become incapacitated or die … [Read more...]
The Intimacy of Estate Planning
The last thing many people would equate to intimacy is estate planning. Just ask anyone who’s ever had to face reality after a terminal illness or devastating accident, they will tell you that things become very personal faster than you can say power of attorney. This week, we shed the logistics and focus on the ties that bind and the intimacy of estate planning. Facing Mortality Most of us realized long before we began preparing our will that we wouldn’t live forever. Whether that brutal fact … [Read more...]
The Role of a Will in Your Estate Planning Efforts
Most estate planning lawyers will tell you the one opening line they hear most often is, “I'm not even sure I need to have a will.” To that end, we explain that a will covers far more than one's finances. There's a lot at stake and ensuring your wishes are met and your loved ones are seen to in the event of your death is what a will is really about. A properly defined estate plan will legally protect and then distribute your property based on your wishes. If for no other reason, you should … [Read more...]
Estate Of Dr. King Sues Octogenarian
Procrastination is common when it comes to estate planning. Many people tend to feel as though estate planning can wait, and this is a gamble in a way. But the thing about this type of gamble is that if you lose, you won't be the person who suffers the consequences. The families and friends of people who die without planning ahead properly are left to try to sort things out, they don't always agree with regard to the intentions of the deceased. As a case in point look no further than the estate … [Read more...]
Probate: Executor Has Important Job
There are a number of different ways to go about planning your estate, but of course the most common vehicle of transfer that people have traditionally utilized is a last will. When you express your final wishes with a last will your estate must be probated. This is when the probate or surrogate court examines the will to determine whether or not it is valid and then supervises the administration of the estate. When you hear that term "administration of the estate" it sounds smooth and … [Read more...]
Probate Attorneys Provide Guidance
People who start to feel as though it is time to take estate planning seriously will generally begin by doing some research on the Internet. Now that we live in the digital age you can indeed absorb a lot of information quickly and efficiently, but of course you have to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. This is certainly the case when you start to look into the topic of estate planning because there is some very good information out there, but there are also some websites that have a … [Read more...]
Probate Avoidance: What's My Motivation?
If you are interested in estate planning but have not yet done a lot of research into the subject you will see mention of "probate avoidance strategies" when you do take the plunge. Many people who are new to the subject of estate planning are not entirely sure of what probate is let alone why a person would want to avoid it, so we would like to provide a broad overview. When you expire your estate passes through a legal process that is called probate, and during this interim the probate or … [Read more...]
POD Accounts Can Be Part Of Probate Avoidance Strategy
When you use a will as your primary vehicle of asset transfer your estate must pass through the process of probate. During this interim the probate or surrogate court supervises the administration of the estate, and this court would provide a forum for interested parties to challenge the will or question its validity. This possibility in itself is one of the reasons why many people choose to implement strategies that enable probate avoidance, but there are a couple of other very compelling … [Read more...]
Free Legacy Planning Advice
It is said that the best things in life are free, and to a large extent this is absolutely true. What could be better than a heartfelt smile on the face of your grandchild, the sights, sounds, and scents of springtime in the forest, or the playful antics of a puppy in the yard. However, when it comes to free advice it is a good idea to be extremely wary, and this is especially applicable to legal matters. There's a strange malady that afflicts some people that renders them unable to utter the … [Read more...]
