Posts Tagged ‘estate planning’

Parents who develop an estate plan often do so to provide for their heirs financially. Many want to make sure hard-earned assets, family heirlooms, or closely held businesses stay within the family. Indeed, a common question is what cost effective options are available to protect one’s children’s inheritance from a spouse in the event of…

Estate planning is often one item that gets pushed back on nearly everyone’s to-do list. The reasons you might be delaying vary: lack of time, not thinking you have enough assets, not knowing how to start, or fear of contemplating death. Whatever the reason for not putting an estate plan together, it is important to…

In a society dominated by paperwork, the question of how long to hold on to important documents has been baffling for most people. We especially worry about documents of a financial or personally identifying nature. People who worry about losing something important sometimes hoard everything; others who worry about things like identity theft are too…

If you’ve been appointed an executor of a loved one’s estate, or a successor trustee, and that person dies, your grief – not to mention your to-do list, including tasks ranging from planning the funeral, coordinating relatives coming in from out of town and (eventually) meeting with a trust administration or probate lawyer – can…

 If you have a revocable living trust, you probably named yourself as trustee so you can continue to manage your own financial affairs, but eventually someone will need to step in for you when you are no longer able to act due to incapacity or after your death. The Successor Trustee plays an important role…

You intend to pass along your wealth through your estate plan, but what about your wisdom? Ensuring you accomplish both calls for a family meeting to have a conversation about your money, your legacy, and your core principles. Working with your estate planning attorney in collaboration any other advisors you have in your corner can…

Preparing a Last Will and Testament (more commonly known as a will) is important, but many people don’t understand what a will does and doesn’t do. The biggest assumption people make is that by having a will, you avoid probate, the legal process that transfers the decedent’s assets to the beneficiaries listed in the will.…

A couple of the documents I prepare as part of my services are the Health Care Power of Attorney and the Living Will. These documents are important to outline who will make medical decisions on your behalf when you are unable to, as well as your end-of-life instructions. However, my clients always ask the important…

There are financial accounts such as life insurance policies, 401k, IRA’s, etc.that allow you to choose the primary beneficiary(ies) and contingent beneficiary(ies), which means upon your passing the funds from these assets will pass directly those individuals listed.I always tell my clients to check the designations on these accounts to ensure: 1)They have a beneficiary(ies)…