Category Archives: Estate Planning
Estate Planning & Undue Influence Over a Will-Maker
When an individual becomes quite elderly or ill, they also become susceptible to manipulation from those who will defraud or steal from them. Targeted attacks on vulnerable older people to exert what attorneys deem “undue influence” constitutes elder abuse. It disrupts the older persons’ impulse to provide for loved ones and instead leaves assets… Read More »
Emergency Planning: Why You Shouldn’t Wait
Emergency planning sounds like something your mother used to lecture you about, right? And how often have you wished that you’d followed your mother’s good advice? Nobody really wants to think in advance about accidents or illness. But if no advance emergency planning has been done, and if an elderly parent has broken a… Read More »
April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month
Every April, the global Parkinson’s community engages to support awareness of Parkinson’s disease (PD), a disease whose cause remains largely unknown although treatment options exist. This year the Parkinson’s Foundation campaign theme is #KnowMorePD. The goal of raising awareness can help make lives better for people with Parkinson’s disease, generate ideas to improve care, educate, and fundraise to help… Read More »
How to Talk to Mom and Dad about Creating an Estate Plan
Conversations about death and dying are rarely fun. Most people avoid them because they invoke feelings about our inevitable demise. Broaching this subject of creating an estate plan can be particularly difficult for parents and their adult children. Adult children may avoid bringing up the topic because they do not want to think about… Read More »
Five Reasons to Protect your Retirement Accounts Now
Your retirement account provides asset protection during your lifetime, but as soon as you pass that account to a loved one, that protection evaporates. When your spouse, child, or other loved one inherits your retirement account, creditors have the power to seize it and use the funds to satisfy their claims. This means one… Read More »
How to Use a Standalone Retirement Trust (SRT) to Protect Your Inheritance from Creditors
Do you have an individual retirement account or other type of retirement account that you plan to leave to your loved ones? If so, proceed with caution. Inherited retirement accounts do not have asset protection when they pass to your loved ones, meaning creditors can seize the money in the accounts to satisfy any… Read More »
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month
As it has for thirty years, early March marks the beginning of Brain Injury Awareness Month. Brain injury, often referred to as traumatic brain injury (TBI), can range from mild (commonly called a concussion) to severe and is caused by an impact to the head or the body or by a penetrating head injury…. Read More »
Reviewing and Updating Your Estate Plan after the Death of a Loved One
The death of a loved one is never easy. Regardless of your relationship with the deceased (blood relative, life partner, or close friend), you need space and time to process and grieve your loss. Once you have had time to cope with all that has happened, you should consider updating your estate plan in… Read More »
Including Noncitizens In Your Estate Planning
With our society becoming increasingly mobile and international travel becoming more affordable than ever before, families and family-like relationships have steadily grown far more diverse in terms of citizenship. It is no longer uncommon for spouses from different countries to retain citizenship in their native countries. Many couples split their time between the United… Read More »
A Guide to Leaving Real Estate to Loved Ones (+ Pros and Cons)
Owning real estate continues to be a very popular investment vehicle for individuals and couples alike. One attractive feature of investing in real estate is that investment property can also double as a personal residence. In other cases, real estate investments may be rental, recreational, commercial, or farm properties. Whatever the case, it is… Read More »
