You start your estate planning process with the best of intentions, thinking carefully about who you want to include and what you’d like them to have. But what happens when your family members don’t agree with your decisions? Since you won’t be around to help explain your intentions, how can you work ahead to prevent […]

  For years, estate planning has been plagued by the perception that it’s only for the rich. As plenty of news stories show, even the rich and famous often neglect their estate planning at the risk of their loved ones.   But smart future-focused people know that estate planning goes far beyond just protecting the […]

If you’ve printed out a basic will, signed it, stored it, and then forgotten about it, this could set your loved ones up for challenges and frustrations if something happens to you. A will is a crucial document for your basic estate planning, but the work doesn’t end there for most people. Although a will […]

If you previously prepared a will in your old state of residence and it was valid there, it is most likely valid in your new state. This is because many states across the country have laws that explicitly say that. However, out of state wills could pose serious problems and could at least prompt you […]

There are plenty of different reasons to use an estate planning lawyer to help you write a will but worrying about the state claiming entitlement to all of the inheritance you leave behind should not be one of them. The legal term for passing away without a will is known as dying intestate.  State law […]

You might have heard in the past that it is extremely important to put together the most basic of estate planning tools; a will if you have children. If you pass away without a will, the state is responsible for making many of the decisions about your property and who will take care of your […]

Tom Benson passed away in 2018 at age 90. He left behind a significant empire that included multiple car dealerships and two professional sports teams out of New Orleans. Sadly, however, many of the last years of his life were spent with his heirs arguing over who is entitled to receive what. The legal battle […]

According to Schwab’s 2017 Modern Wealth Survey, plenty of people are simply uncomfortable talking about their finances with their family and friends. However, if any of these people play an important role such as personal representative, executor, trustee or beneficiary in your own estate plan, it could be a big mistake to skip out on […]

Research shows that people who have average health and moderate levels of wealth will be better off deferring their Social Security benefits until age 70, when they can. However, approximately 90% of those who are eligible to get those benefits, claim them before the full benefit age of 67.  Of course there are many different […]

Many people are under the impression that if they do not have significant assets that meet the estate tax laws in their country that they do not have an estate. But no person is exempt from having a complicated, large or even messy estate. Even people who assume that they have very little still have […]