If I Leave Someone My Home, What Do They Really Get?
In the eyes of the law, your home is a collection of several types of property along with their associated property rights. When the time comes to pass your home on at your death, the law, rather than any sentimental attachments or fond associations with the house, is what matters.
Parental Warning: If You Own Your Property This Way, You May Accidentally Disinherit Your Own Children
Many people think that owning property jointly allows them to avoid probate completely. Probate is the court process of transferring a person’s solely owned accounts and property that has no beneficiaries when the person dies to their heirs-at-law. While joint property ownership avoids the probate process when the first owner passes away, it does not guarantee that probate will be avoided forever.Many people think that owning property jointly allows them to avoid probate completely. While joint property ownership avoids the probate process when the first owner passes away, it does not guarantee that probate will be avoided forever.
Whom Should I Tell About My Estate Plan?
An estate plan cannot work if it is invisible. If no one knows that your plan exists or if no one can access your documents, it may as well not exist.
Treating Children Fairly Does Not Necessarily Mean Equally
Parents generally try to treat all their children fairly. We often assume that fairness means leaving an equal inheritance to each child. However, “fair” does not always mean “equal.”
Do It Now: Name a Guardian for Your Minor Children
Parents with minor children need to nominate a guardian in case both parents die or become incapacitated (unable to manage their own affairs) before their children reach adulthood. While the likelihood of that happening might be slim, the consequences of not naming a guardian are serious.
5 Things Every New Parent Needs to Know About Wills
While legal documents are the last thing you want to think about, creating a will and other estate planning tools is one of the most loving things you can do for your child.
What to Do After a Loved One Dies
As the person in charge of winding up your loved one’s affairs, you may find yourself juggling many tasks: planning the funeral, coordinating with relatives arriving from out of town, and meeting with an attorney to start the legal process of paying for final expenses and any outstanding debts so the money and property can be distributed to the appropriate recipients. Be sure to take care of yourself during this emotional time.
Estate Planning Facts for the Holiday Season
Every year around the holidays, stores and malls across America are transformed into winter wonderlands, complete with elves, ornaments, artificial snow, and larger-than-life decorations. Many children stare in wide-eyed wonder […]
National Regifting Day: Regifting for Your Future
During the holidays, we usually receive at least one gift that, let’s face it, falls a bit flat. When we were young, it might have been an itchy sweater from […]
12 Estate Planning Steps to Take This Holiday Season
“On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree.” —The Twelve Days of Christmas A partridge in a pear tree? Lords […]