Should the Trustee of My Trust Be Different during My Incapacity Than at My Death?
When you create a trust, choosing a trustee is one of the most important decisions you will make. If you create a revocable trust—that is, a trust that you establish during your lifetime and can revoke or amend—you may opt to act as trustee for your trust, retaining the full control over and benefit of […]
How to Check the Validity of a Will
Without a valid will, a person’s estate passes to their surviving heirs under intestate succession (i.e., ‘succession without a will’).
How to Approach Parents about Estate Planning
If you have a parent over the age of, say, 65, thoughts about their future may have started to creep into your mind. However, because end-of-life planning can be emotional and overwhelming, it’s tempting to put these conversations off—and even more pleasing to avoid them altogether.
Talk to Parents about Estate Planning without Making It Awkward
Discussing estate planning with your parents is a conversation that can be difficult to have. You might not want to think about the day they are no longer here, or even consider that they might experience a decline in health that severely limits their ability to think clearly or communicate with you.
Common Estate Planning Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Even those with the best of intentions can fall into the trap of estate planning misinformation. Estate planning attorneys frequently hear rumors and ill advice disguised as facts.
What are Digital Assets in an Estate?
Today, so many aspects of our lives are managed virtually. We keep currency, photos, music, documents, bills, medical records, artwork and even our social lives online or ‘in the cloud.’
What Happens If an Unmarried Partner Dies?
A proper estate plan will help those left navigate the disposition of assets and the probate court system, especially for unmarried couples and some married same-sex couples.
Can Family Members Contest a Will?
The death of a loved one results in an emotional grief that, when combined with large sums of money on the line, can cause the beneficiaries of the will or trust or the heirs of the deceased to challenge the validity, interpretation, or administration of the will or trust.
Aging Parents and Blended Families Create Estate Planning Challenges
We have seen some step siblings able to all get along fine but they seem to be the exception. More likely, one sibling feels divided loyalty to the birth parent, not the step-parent.
What Do I Need to Know about Estate Planning?
Expert tips on why starting your estate plan early, choosing beneficiaries, and thinking about how you want to transfer your wealth to the next generation are critical for your financial future.
