How Often Should I Update My Will and Other Estate Papers? Some people set up their will and other estate documents and then pretty much forget about them until the time comes to put them into action. This “plan” is never a good idea. The younger you are when you first set up your estate…
Setting Up A Trust and Making Sure It Is Safe When You Are Estranged Betty and her daughter have had problems for years, and they no longer talk. Her daughter is prone to unpredictable behavior and has never been good at money management. Unfortunately for Betty, there are two grandchildren that she also doesn’t get…
Do You Love Your Family? Why Guardianship Matters Today! As mothers, we love our children — it is, perhaps, our defining quality. Everything we do is for and about them in the end. But in the back of our minds, we always labor with the uneasy knowledge that if something were to happen to us,…
Tips on Selecting Someone to Become Your Financial Power of Attorney Choosing who should hold the powers of attorney over vital areas of concern when making your estate plan is not a decision to be taken lightly. You need to know that the person you choose has the knowledge and maturity to handle the responsibility.…
Why You Should Create an Estate Plan Even If You Are Not Rich Many people believe that in order to need an estate plan, they should own a mansion on a massive plot of land, a multinational corporation, a fleet of yachts, and a handful of champion racehorses. This belief is far from the truth.…
It depends. It depends on your goals going into estate planning. The who, why and what. (Questions your attorney should be asking you before you plan…) In this instance: Who are you protecting? Your young kids. What are you protecting? Monies you want your children to use for education (college, graduate school, etc.) A trust protects the money you…
Recently we shared an article which discussed three types of special needs trusts; third-party special needs trusts, first-party special needs trusts and pooled trusts. We also shared that we generally think of any trust, special needs or otherwise, as boxes to safe keep things, money or property for the benefit of another. A third-party special needs…
“What Happens If I Am In the Middle of a Divorce and My Spouse Dies?” Short answer: Divorce proceeding ends because the marriage ended at the death of the person. Long answer: There still needs to be decisions about the money, things, property, and children. Now all these decisions are made in probate…
As you know, having guardianship papers and an estate plan set up is an important step in adulthood. But you may not realize that just as important is being familiar with your guardianship papers and estate plan. Let’s take a look at each form you might have. Living Will A living will is also…
Having estate planning forms filled out and set up is a very important step as an adult. Most people, however, do not think about having an estate plan until they are close to retirement age or older. Many people do not want to think about the possibility of not being around to take care of…