Estate planning is often largely about the protection of other people. Testators want to provide for their dependent family members. They want to prevent their loved ones from fighting with each other. They draft documents that help ensure their loved ones have...
Estate Planning
How are conservatorships different than guardianships?
Two potential options for elderly individuals, when looking at long-term care planning, are conservatorships and guardianships. Both of these legal tools put someone else in charge of the elderly individual, with a focus on making important decisions and prioritizing...
Trust options that can help protect your assets
Planning for the future is about more than growing wealth. It’s about safeguarding it from threats. Without proper planning, creditors, lawsuits and estate taxes can decimate your assets, leaving your beneficiaries without the inheritance you intended. Adding one or...
Why might you want to alter a trust?
If you are considering using a trust as part of your estate plan, one of the things you will need to consider is whether to create a revocable trust or an irrevocable one. One of the key reasons people opt for irrevocable trusts is that they do not need to pass...
Who pays off debts for an estate?
Are you worried about your parents' debt? It may not just be the fact that these debts are concerning now, while your parents are still alive. But if they have an excessive amount of credit card debt or something of this nature, you may be worried as one of their...
Young adults need estate plans, too
When we’re young, we subconsciously believe nothing bad can happen to us. Death is far from our minds, and we have all the time in the world. Most young people also haven’t had the opportunity to accumulate many assets and aren’t particularly worried about who will...
3 reasons older adults may need to review and update estate plans
Having an estate plan in place is definitely important, but so is keeping documents up to date. Many testators who have wills and other estate planning documents may take for granted the idea that they have adequate protection and the ability to access support if they...
A living will vs. a power of attorney: What you should know
An estate plan allows people to manage their legacy and help ensure their assets are distributed to loved ones after a person passes away. However, an estate plan is not only used for the distribution of assets. People can also use an estate plan to manage their...
Young adults: You need a digital estate plan
Estate planning is an activity that is often associated with older adults or those with significant assets, but young adults also need to create estate plans for a variety of pressing reasons. For example, most young people in the U.S. have extensive online...
Can multiple beneficiaries inherit real estate?
When drafting an estate plan, some assets may be given to single beneficiaries, while others may be divided during estate administration. For example, family heirlooms might be distributed to multiple adult children, with each receiving specific items according to the...