Make this your new year’s resolution. Or don’t. Either way, these six things should give you peace of mind that your family and friends will not struggle through the probate process. 1. Make a list of your stuff Create a simple list of your assets with corresponding values – use a ballpark value if you don’t […]
We have written about the benefits of utilizing revocable trusts for incapacity planning, probate avoidance and out-of-state real estate. However, we often get the question from couples, “Why do we need two trusts? Why can’t we just have one joint trust?” To be honest, in some instances, a joint revocable trust might be the appropriate option […]
When a trust is created, it is always important to choose the right trustee. Generally, a trustee should be an individual(s) or company that is detail-oriented and will follow all required fiduciary duties. In previous posts, a trustee’s fiduciary duties and responsibilities have been outlined and discussed. Normally, a trustee is all that is needed […]
What is a Spendthrift Trust? A spendthrift trust is one in which the right of a beneficiary to future payments from the trust cannot be voluntarily or involuntarily transferred by the beneficiary or reached by the beneficiary’s creditors. While in trust, assets are unattainable until they are distributed. The beneficiary of a spendthrift trust does […]
This is the first in a three part series on pre-planning for your death. This series is written by Jill Sauber, a current law student and licensed mortician. People often segue into talking about their own mortality or death by saying, “if something happens to me.” As though stating it in terms of “maybe” […]
Historically, determining a decedent’s heirs was easy – determine all of the decedent’s living family members on the date of decedent’s death and if decedent’s wife was pregnant on the date of his death, wait to see if the child is born alive. Now, however, science has provided us with the ability to freeze genetic […]
If you are one of the millions of parents who own a life insurance policy, you may have your child named individually as a primary or contingent beneficiary if you were to pass away while the policy was still in effect. However, naming a child individually, especially under the age of eighteen, can have unintended […]
For insured’s under the misperception that their life insurance policy is iron clad simply because they pay their annually billed premium, these folks may be in for an abrupt and expensive surprise. Many policies are designed to stay in force only on the basis of critical assumptions being met or exceeded over the life of […]
PART IV: HOW? DETERMINING THE TOOLS. “When an artist of talent makes a painting or a sculpture, he is always aware of the potentials and limitations of his materials; the better the artist, the more likely he is to know just what he can and cannot do with them.” ~Bruce Cole, Art Scholar and Senior […]
My clients frequently claim that their number one goal in establishing an estate plan is to “avoid probate.” Upon further discussion, I discover that most have a number of misconceptions regarding what probate actually is. Probate Probate is, quite simply, the legal process by which assets owned by a decedent are transferred to the rightful […]
Part III: Who? Identifying The Participants. “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts[.]” ~ William Shakespeare’s As You Like It In addition to making clients face their own mortality, estate planning presents an […]