Why Would I Need a Living Trust?
Have you made any plans to distribute your assets and take care of your family, when you die or become incapacitated?
April 17, 2021
Have you made any plans to distribute your assets and take care of your family, when you die or become incapacitated?
My 91-year-old mother-in-law died on Dec. 13, 2020. There was no will, so we are currently working our way through the probate process. Her income was less than $20,000 a year from Social Security and we can’t find any tax returns she filed. Was she required to file?
Although there is considerable legal information and misinformation, it is generally understood that a last will and testament is the device used to distribute property after death. However, the why, how and when are less familiar.
Now that there is a Democratic majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, estate and gift tax law changes are expected to occur in 2021 or 2022.
More and more often, estate beneficiaries are retaining their own attorneys to make sure that the executor properly administers the estate.
These all-too-common misconceptions can steer your estate plans in the wrong direction right from the start. Here’s how to overcome them and tips to build the right plan for your family.
Build your own medical emergency packet.
Most people wish to have more control over who and how their assets are managed than what the state laws provide, and so they draft documents that can override the Laws of Intestacy, when those laws do not match their objectives.
Revocable trusts are a very popular and effective estate-planning tool. However, the trust will be ineffective, if you do not actually place your assets in the trust.