Recent Blog Posts
What Can Go Wrong With Designating Beneficiaries For Non-Probate Assets?
It can be difficult to get started on big projects; just ask any parent who has struggled to muster the energy to pick up the first piece of clutter in the living room after the kids had a three-day weekend off from school. By contrast, you get a big emotional boost when you accomplish… Read More »
Does It Really Matter If You Choose A Revocable Or Irrevocable Trust?
The most attainable New Year’s resolutions are the ones that require “one and done” actions, as opposed to actions that you must repeat every day. “One day at a time” is your only option if you are trying to achieve sobriety or follow a healthy diet; the things in life that are most worth… Read More »
So, You Inherited Your Parents’ House Jointly With Your Siblings
How many times have you seen a bedraggled mother in the supermarket trying to find all the items on her shopping list while her children antagonize each other in and around the shopping cart? If she is lucky, a friendly senior, who might even be you, reassures her that sibling rivalry will evaporate once… Read More »
What Happens To Your Estate Plan If You File For Divorce?
For people still in love with a spouse whose feelings have changed, divorce is the worst-case scenario. For couples who are at their wits’ end with each other, staying together until the bitter end is worse. Little do they know that it is much worse than either of those scenarios is when one spouse… Read More »
Does Transferring Property To A Revocable Trust Make Things Worse?
Given the modest amount of effort it takes to establish a revocable trust and the vast amount of time and effort you can save your heirs by establishing one, it is a wonder that not everyone does it. A revocable trust lets you be in control of the assets you transfer to it as… Read More »
The Worst Choices Of Beneficiaries Of Non-Probate Assets
Non-probate assets are the key to saving money on transferring your property to your heirs after you die. Any property that you own solely, and which you have not preserved in the form of a non-probate asset, will become part of your estate and go through probate. This means that the beneficiaries of your… Read More »
Protecting Recently Deceased Family Members From Financial Crime
You might think that money is the last thing you would want to think about immediately after a family member dies, but the stress of planning a funeral is enough to make you look forward to probate. Unfortunately, there are other administrative matters you must take care of before bringing the decedent’s will to… Read More »
Downsizing Your Home For Retirement
If you have always had misgivings about the McMansion life, retirement is the ideal time to break free from it. Depending on your work situation, you might even be able to ditch your McMansion while you are still in the workforce, as long as your children have grown up and moved out of the… Read More »
Getting Real About Credit Card Debt And Your Estate Plan
Young people love to remind you that your generation had a lot of things easier than they will ever have. Homeownership was more affordable in your day, and so was everything else. Job stability and retirement pensions were easier to find. This does not mean that seniors are immune to financial hardships, though. Years… Read More »
Estate Planning New Year’s Resolutions For 2025
Congratulations on making it through 2024. Even if you still feel young, you are old enough that living to see another year counts as a victory. You are too old for unrealistic New Year’s resolutions like eliminating all enjoyable foods from your diet or becoming fabulously wealthy, but you are just the right age… Read More »