Your power of attorney document formally appoints another person known as a power of attorney agent to take actions on your behalf. As the creator you are referred to as the principal in this document. There are some situations, however, in which an agent might determine that they wish to resign as your power of [...]
Has it been some time since you sat down with an estate planning lawyer? If you never created a living will, now is the time to find a lawyer who can help you navigate the creation and maintenance of that document. A living will is a key component of your estate planning process. There are [...]
Did the court recently name you as a personal representative to a loved one's estate or have you volunteered to serve in this role because there's no one else in your family or friends circle who can assist with a deceased family member's estate administration? The process of probate requires that at least one person [...]
There are many different decisions you need to make as part of the estate planning process and some of them will have to do with your real property. You might be wondering whether you should use a living trust or a will to transfer your primary home. There are two big reasons why it makes [...]
A trust can be created to help manage asset transfer when you pass away in a streamlined and controlled manner. This prompts the question, should you put your life insurance policy into a trust? Naming a living trust as a beneficiary of your life insurance policy does come with some disadvantages. The benefits of going [...]
Creating a will online or using a basic template might seem like the easiest route. After all, this is a task many people put off to begin with, and finding a simple template that makes it go much more quickly is very enticing. However, simply filling out an online form is not enough to create [...]
The most targeted group for financial fraud is elderly individuals but studies show that they are also the least concerned about being scammed. Millions of older Americans have worked extremely hard to contribute to their retirement funds and this makes them top targets for financial scams. A 2021 retirement risk readiness study conducted by Allianz [...]
Approaching the new year gives people plenty of opportunities to set resolutions for the 12 months ahead, but a great financial plan and ongoing financial strategy to support your personal goals and your estate plan is about more than a one-time commitment. It's an ongoing area of focus. Designate January as a month that you [...]
A transfer on death bank account is one way to provide assets relatively quickly to your loved ones after you pass away because your passing enables them to get access to these assets immediately. Most people establish a transfer on death bank account specifically for the purposes of a spouse or a child. However, many [...]
When you create a retirement plan, you'll need to establish beneficiaries for those assets when you pass away. These beneficiary designation forms are handled outside of the rest of your probated estate, meaning that the forms you have on file with your company will be used when you pass away regardless of what it says [...]
