Trust: Probate Avoidance 101 As Ambrose Bierce once darkly observed, “Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” Obviously, ideally, when someone passes away, the paperwork and material concerns associated with the estate are so flawlessly...
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Elder Law
3 Reasons You Want to Avoid Probate
When you pass away, your family may need to visit a probate court in order to claim their inheritance. This can happen if you own property (like a house, car, bank account, investment account, or other asset) in only your name. Although having a will is a good basic...
The Pros and Cons of Probate
In estate planning circles, the word “probate” often comes with a starkly negative connotation. Indeed, for many people — especially those with larger estates — financial planners recommend trying to keep property out of probate whenever possible. That being said, the...
Successor Trustee: 5 Mistakes Successor Trustees Make and How to Prevent Them
The Trustee has a challenging job that is often made more daunting by family relationship or the complexity of the trust. When establishing a trust, you need to give serious thought to choosing your successor trustee—the person who will administer your trust once...
Did you include your grandkids in your will?
Grandchildren Estate Plan: 5 Tips to Avoid Common Problems As we build wealth, we naturally desire to pass that financial stability to our offspring. With the grandkids, especially, we often share a special bond that makes us want to provide well for their future....
It’s Time to Reassess Your Medicare Choices
Medicare Plans – What is best for you? Are your Medicare plans still working for you? Medicare’s open enrollment period, in which you can enroll in or switch plans, runs from October 15 to December 7. Now is the time to review your options to determine if switching...
Nursing Home Residents Win Back Right to Sue
In recent years, nursing homes have increasingly asked — or forced — patients and their families to sign arbitration agreements prior to admission. By signing these agreements, patients or family members give up their right to sue if they believe the nursing home was...
Estate Planning Lessons from Famous Estates
What These 4 Famous Estate Planning Debacles Can Tell You About Proper Planning Are you failing your family the way these 4 celebrities failed theirs? These four celebrity estate planning fiascos offer lessons about how to handle your own planning and legacies. Pablo...
Digital Assets – What to Do?
Digital Assets is an entire category of commonly-overlooked legacy to consider – digital assets. Don’t worry if you didn’t consider these assets when made your will or trust – it’s surprisingly common and, luckily, easy to correct. What are digital assets? They...
Long-Term Care and Medicaid
Medicaid, long-term care, and your spouse We as Americans are living longer. The longer we live, the more likely it is that we will spend time in a skilled-nursing facility or nursing home. Skilled-nursing facilities are very expensive and are the source of anxiety...