Is a Last Will and Testament or a Revocable Living Trust best for you and your estate plan? There are benefits to each document, but there are three differences too. These three differences may help you choose the document that best fit your needs. Probate Probate is the court-supervised process used to settle an estate […]

We heard a lot of talk about end-of-life medical procedures during the debates surrounding health care reform, and this highlighted the reason why it is advisable to add an element of incapacity planning to your long term plan. People are living longer than ever, and the fact is that when you reach an advanced age […]

When you plan your estate as a small business owner you have to look at things differently than people who are not in business for themselves. In many cases the business may be your most significant asset, so when you are planning your estate you have to decide how to make the most of it. […]

When you get together with an estate planning attorney to draw up your will you are logically going to be focused on how to optimize your assets and transfer them to your heirs in the most effective and efficient manner possible. This is all well and good, but there is another piece to the puzzle […]

Estate planning can involve the implementation of some rather sophisticated strategies intended to prevent your assets from eroding as they change hands after you pass away. But what are these sources of erosion? Are money, property, and securities subject to some natural force that inevitably whittles them down in the same manner that a river […]

A number of states, including Mississippi, are considering opting out of the federal Medicaid program.  Link  This would no doubt solve the annual budget crisis that plagues Mississippi over Medicaid shortfalls each year, but at a heavy cost.  Almost every nursing home resident is a Medicaid recipient, and those that are not soon will be […]

In the realm of estate planning 2010 was a uniquely good year, because for the first time since it was enacted in 1916 there was no estate tax. This levy was repealed for one year due to a provision included in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act that was passed back in 2001. […]

Mississippi currently participates in a Medicaid waiver program that will pay for in-home care.  This is a good program that permits families to care for loved ones in home at a much lower cost than the institutional care provided in nursing homes.  The patient prefers to be at home, the family prefers the family member […]

It is understandable that planning for the possibility of death or incapacitation would be one of the last things on your mind when you are a young adult. However, the fact remains that as soon as you are married and have your first child, you have a family that is depending on you. From that […]

In the parlance of estate planning, a QPRT is a qualified personal residence trust, and they are used to remove the value of your home from your estate for tax purposes. Let’s say that you plan to leave your home to your daughter after you pass away. You place the house into the trust, and […]