Taking the time to create an estate plan can help the people you love have financial protection if something tragic happens. However, it can be a big mistake to presume that your estate planning needs just disappear after you create your initial estate plan or create...
Now that you’re getting older, one of the things you’ve kept up on is your life insurance. You want those around you to have the ability to pay off any debts you have left and to take care of themselves once you pass away. Initially, you’d left the inheritance to your...
You spent a lifetime accumulating money and personal property, and you want to leave it to the people you love when you die. Sadly, your children or other close family members have repeatedly shown that they struggle with making good decisions when it comes to money....
The distribution of personal property may be the most dramatic and gratifying of all the steps in estate administration. You give people who have recently lost someone they loved mementos to help them remember that person. Additionally, you might give out assets that...
Using a trust as part of your estate planning process offers many benefits. It gives you more control over the long-term use of your assets and can even protect you during retirement. Trusts limit tax liability and can even allow your beneficiaries to avoid probate...
There are times in life when you cannot speak up on your own behalf. When you are a child, you typically do not have the legal authority to make your own decisions. The same is true for older adults experiencing cognitive decline and those with incapacitating medical...
One of the most important obligations an executor has to an estate is the repayment of debts. In fact, if you make mistakes with how you handle property in an estate, those owed money by the deceased can hold you responsible as the executor in some circumstances....
You may know the importance of having an estate plan in place, but have you considered how you’ll make sure that your loved ones are able to find all of your documents once you pass away? There have been cases where someone has died and left behind a will or plan, but...
There are dozens of steps necessary to properly manage an estate, and some of them will be repetitive. You will have to contact every creditor and utility company and provide them with documentation. You will have to inventory every physical and financial asset held...
As a potential beneficiary and heir to your parent’s estate, you’ve always known that you’d have to play a role in taking care of it. One thing that you have always been concerned about was what would happen if your mom or dad could no longer make good, sound...