Estate planning attorneys are often asked where original estate planning documents—wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives—should be stored for safekeeping. There is no right or wrong answer to this question.
Fighting over provisions in your will or trust can derail your final wishes, rapidly deplete your financial legacy, and tear your loved ones apart. However, with proper planning, you can help your family avoid a potentially disastrous fight.
When everyone is alive and happy, it is easy to think that nothing will break a family apart. Many people think that since everyone gets along, estate planning is unnecessary because everyone will look out for one another and do only what is fair. However, having a properly prepared estate plan is crucial. Failing to plan not only takes all the control out of your hands but can also leave hurt feelings and possible confusion over your true wishes. This confusion may force family members to pursue the only source available to resolve the misunderstanding: probate court.
Is there such a thing as being too prepared? If you do not have children at your death and your estate plan references a child who exists only in theory, it can present unnecessary complications.
By reflecting on your successes and failures from the past year and your priorities moving forward, you can bring more intentionality to your life and make conscious choices, including estate planning decisions, that align with what truly matters to you—not just now, but in the long run.
From laws against selling doughnuts on Sundays to ordinances that prohibit tying a giraffe to a telephone pole, the annals of American jurisprudence are filled with archaic laws that, while still technically on the books, are rarely, if ever, enforced.
Many people believe that once they set up a revocable living trust and change the ownership of their accounts and property from themselves as individuals to their trust, those accounts
Approximately three-fourths of Americans do not have a basic will.[1] Many of the same people also have children under the age of 18, which underscores a major misunderstanding about estate
You may be surprised to learn that, not only has asset protection planning been around for a long time, but you likely have already engaged in it at some point.
When beginning any type of planning, you usually start with some preliminary questions. Estate planning is no different. When you begin the process, your estate planning attorney will likely ask