A major concern for parents of minor children is who will be appointed in the will to take care of the child if the parents pass away. If both of the parents play a relatively equal role in raising the child together, whether it is through the participation of both, or in the case of […]

If you recently moved to a new location from a different state, you need to make sure that your estate planning documents have been updated to show law controls in your new location.  An attorney can assist you with putting together an amendment to your living and revocable trust that applies to your new state’s […]

Do you have a plan to protect yourself from the costly expenses of long term care? Far too many people avoid making a goal of protecting their assets from being decimated by long term care. Most people might assume that long term care expenses only arise in a nursing home situation but a recent study […]

The cost of nursing home care can be catastrophic for someone who has saved ahead for their retirement. A long term care insurance policy could be one important component of saving ahead for the potential of long term care expenses. Being diagnosed with a physical or cognitive issue might mean that a family member or […]

There are both practical and legal responsibilities linked to a trustee when the grantor passes away. These include: Locating and reviewing all of the important papers of the deceased. These items should be found as soon as possible. Change the locks and take any steps necessary to close out and protect the house. Notify insurance […]

It may have been in the best of intentions that you decided to leave an IRA behind to a loved one but this can generate unintended tax problems for the beneficiary. Naming a trust as a beneficiary of your IRA instead can help to protect heirs who are disabled, vulnerable to creditors or who are […]

Deciding to plan ahead for the future often begins with using a last will and testament, but a simple internet search might make it seem as though all you need to do is print out a form, fill it out, and file it away.  This has numerous potential pitfalls, including the fact that the template […]

Increasingly, clients are turning to estate planning lawyers to help with the process of gifting unequal shares or assets to their children. There are several different reasons why a parent today might look to outline these kinds of specifics in an estate plan, but it’s also happening at the same time when family conflict poses […]

Market volatility and the possibility of further estate tax reform all have many estate planning advisers prepared for sudden shifts in strategies, but those aren’t even the issues at the top of the list for most American families. In fact, a new TD Wealth study confirmed last year’s findings that family conflict is the biggest […]

Retirement planning and estate planning should work hand in hand, and while plenty of people have admitted in recent studies that they don’t have the basic tools of an estate plan such as a will or trust, a 2018 study conducted by Northwestern Mutual found that many Americans feel they have inadequate retirement plans.  In […]