We see tragedy on a day-to-day basis because good, caring folks make these horrid estate planning mistakes regularly. Will you?
Read More »Why Factoring Long-Term Care Into Your Estate Plan Pays Off
For most people, thinking about estate planning means focusing on what will happen to their money after they pass away. But that misses one pretty significant consideration: the need to plan for long-term care.
Read More »‘Till Death Do Us Part, Too: Estate Planning Tips for Commitment Without Marriage
Advice columnist Ann Landers once observed that “love is friendship that has caught fire.” If that’s true, there are thousands of ways for that blaze to unfold. For many Americans, such devotion and passion do not need to be neatly formalized as marriage.
Read More »Why Your Estate Planning Project Must Morph into a Process
Many people put their estate plan on their to-do list as a one-time project: “Create estate plan” or “Meeting with lawyer 10:30 a.m. Thursday for estate plan.”
Read More »The Lifetime QTIP Trust: Or (How to Maintain Control of Your Estate and Keep Spouse No. 2 Happy)
Estate planning for couples in a second or later marriage who have disproportionate estates can be tricky. One solution for allowing the well-to-do spouse to maintain control of their assets but keep their other half happy is the Lifetime QTIP Trust.
Read More »Surprise! You Can’t Easily Disinherit Your Spouse in the U.S.
Believe it or not, in the U.S. it isn’t easy to disinherit your spouse. But the same is not true for other family members – generally, you can use your estate plan to disinherit your brothers and sisters, your nieces and nephews, or even your very own children and grandchildren.
Read More »How to Make Your Inheritance Last
A 2012 study by Ohio State researcher Jay Zagorsky found that about one-third of Americans who receive an inheritance have negative savings within two years of getting their money, and of those who receive $100,000 or more, nearly one in five spend, donate or simply lose it all. If you are about to receive an […]
Read More »Estate Planning: 3 Reasons We Run the Other Way
We understand that it feels hard to get around to estate planning; it sounds about as fun as getting a root canal. However, we also understand that we all want to make sure that our loved ones are protected and receive our hard-earned assets – regardless of whether we have $10 million or $10,000.
Read More »How to Align Insurance with Your Estate Plan
If you’re like most folks, you use a variety of insurance products to manage risk and protect you, your family, and your assets from losses caused by property damage, businesses, property, accidents, disability, retirement, and death. However, instead of considering these insurances as separate items, we suggest you make them part of an integrated, overall […]
Read More »Wills, Trusts & Dying Intestate: How They Differ
Most people understand that having some sort of an estate plan is, as Martha Stewart would say, a “good thing.” However, many of us don’t take the steps to get that estate plan in place because we don’t understand the nuances between wills and trusts – and dying without either.
Read More »