Estate Planning

If you are a parent, you know just how vital estate planning is for your family. Parents who pass away without a will and other estate planning documents leave personal decisions about property and healthcare up to their children. When parents die intestate, the children and other family members are essentially forced to guess what the parents’ final wishes are. This can be an enormous burden to bear. Creating a comprehensive estate plan and sharing your wishes with your children is crucial. You may also wish to make your child […]

Many people know that trusts are valuable legal tools useful in a wide variety of situations. However, fewer people understand exactly how trusts work. They may wonder how trust funds are accessed, whether trust assets may be sold, and how trusts influence their tax responsibility.  If you are exploring your estate planning options, you may want to consider using a trust to ensure your assets are managed according to your wishes both during your lifetime and upon your death. Trusts have many benefits, including asset protection, tax advantages, and reduced […]

Many people assume that estate planning is only for elderly individuals or those in poor health. While it can be tempting to procrastinate estate planning until later in life, doing so can have negative consequences – both personally and financially. Realistically, every adult should have an estate plan, and it is never too early to start. If you are a parent of adult children, you may be thinking about their estate plans. Even if your children are only in their 20s or 30s, it is a good idea to start […]

As you contemplate your estate plans, there are more complicated factors than you may realize.  Having children, buying and selling property, getting married or divorced, and making investments can all complicate estate planning. No matter what phase of life you are in, there are documents that you should have in place to ensure that your assets are handled properly and can be transferred to your beneficiaries according to your wishes with minimal tax implications.  Whether you are a single person with very few assets or a married couple with significant […]

Getting married is a significant step in anyone’s life. A couple that is looking to build a life together will often want to combine many, if not all, aspects of their lives, including their finances. However, when doing so, it is important to understand how to handle these issues, including what should be merged and what should be kept separate. By considering the steps to take and the assets and liabilities that will need to be accounted for, a couple can plan for the future while still ensuring that each […]

When a person creates a will, they provide instructions for how they want their property to be divided among their heirs, which may include their spouse, children, other family members or loved ones, or charitable organizations. However, if a person dies without having created and executed a will, their family may be unsure about how ownership of their property will be handled and what procedures will need to be followed. In these situations, it is important to understand how the laws of “intestate succession” will apply. Intestate Probate If a […]