Tag Archives: estate planning
Serving as a Fiduciary: What You Need to Know
You may be asked to be power of attorney for a family member or friend. Your family member or friend may be planning for when they might become unable to take care of their affairs. For example, they might become disabled or incapacitated, and they would need a trusted person to step in and… Read More »
Coming of Age and Powers of Attorney
When your child turns 18 (in most states), it might be hard to imagine that the little child who once needed you for everything has now become – overnight – an adult. Now your child is free to vote, marry, apply for a credit card, make medical and financial decisions, sign contracts, and live… Read More »
What Happens If My Beneficiary Dies Before Me?
When planning for death, most people assume they will die before their beneficiaries (e.g., their spouse, children, and grandchildren). While these assumptions are often well-founded, they do not always come to pass. This may have you wondering, “so what happens if my beneficiary dies before me”? Or, if this has already happened to you,… Read More »
Designating Beneficiaries: 8 Pitfalls You May Not Know About
You might think that leaving your property to your heirs would be simple enough. You make a will or a trust, you do a transfer-on-death deed for your real estate, you put your kids on your bank account, you designate beneficiaries for your life insurance and retirement accounts, and you’re done. If only things… Read More »
A Will Does Much More Than Transfer Your Assets
Caring.com annual estate planning survey for 2019 found that 57% of U.S. adults do not have a Last Will & Testament (a “Will”). The survey found that participants were more likely or less likely to have a Will depending on issues such as age, race, and education. For example, when broken down generationally, 66% of people… Read More »
Help! I’ve Been Named as a Guardian. What Do I Do?
A guardian is an individual who cares for someone who needs special protection. Adults can nominate a guardian in his or her Will. Likewise, parents can also nominate a guardian in their Will, but a court must confirm and officially appoint the guardian. Sometimes the need for guardianship arises when the parents are still… Read More »
The Danger of Adding Your Kids to Your Bank Accounts
I want to leave my bank accounts to my children when I’m gone. Can’t I just make the children joint owners? That idea sounds better than it actually is. Yes, the bank accounts would avoid probate proceedings when you pass. But by adding kids to your bank accounts, you’d put yourself at risk at… Read More »
Does the Probate Attorney Represent the Personal Representative or the Estate Heirs?
Whether you are the Personal Representative or an heir of the probate estate, knowing the role of a probate attorney is one of the first steps you should take at the beginning of the probate process. One of the biggest sources of conflict in probating the estate is understanding who the probate attorney hired… Read More »
Legal Planning for Alzheimer’s Disease
There is currently no cure for the more than 5 million Americans who have Alzheimer’s disease. Projections by the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) are that by 2050 more than 14 million Americans will suffer from this disease. What can you do if you are medically diagnosed with Alzheimer’s? Aside from following the advice of your… Read More »
Alzheimer’s Disease 2020 Facts and Statistics
There are over 400 types of dementia. While that number is staggering, the most common cause of dementia is due to Alzheimer’s disease, according to the 2020 Facts and Figures report published by the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org). Other better-known types of dementia include vascular, Lewy Body disease, frontotemporal dementia, and early-onset dementia. As of this… Read More »
