Recent Blog Posts
What is a Will?
If you asked a group of people, “What is a will?” you may be surprised to find out that many people do not know exactly what a will can (and cannot do). However, having a clear understanding of the purpose, benefits, and limitations of a will is extremely important. What is a Will, and… Read More »
National Home Remodeling Month: Can I Remodel My Own Estate Planning Documents?
Do you know that, according to the National Association of Home Builders, May is National Home Remodeling Month? Many people associate spring with cleaning out the old, brushing off the dirt accumulated from the long winter, and starting projects around the house that have been neglected for far too long. Perhaps, however, your home… Read More »
Estate Planning Considerations for Unmarried Partners
When it comes to protection for unmarried partners, there are several estate planning options to consider. Depending on the value of your money and property, your desired level of protection from your partner’s creditors, and other factors unique to your situation, one or more of these strategies may be beneficial. A word of caution:… Read More »
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 »
Warning: Don’t Let Creditors Inherit from You or Your Spouse
Although a surviving spouse receives special treatment when inheriting a retirement account such as an IRA (the ability to roll over the account into a personal retirement account and to stretch the distributions over their lifetime), the retirement account you leave for your spouse can still be seized in a divorce, a lawsuit, or… 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 »
