When you dare to think ahead to the last days of your life (if you dare to think about that), what do you imagine? If you are like 70 percent of Americans, you dream of spending your final days at home, in peace and comfort, surrounded by loved ones who care for you compassionately until […]
Read More »Planning for Giving Your Assets to Your Children
Call it the triple-whammy: An elderly parent, a new significant other and an aging bull market. A reader recently shared his frustrations over watching his elderly father gift a large portion of his assets to a new girlfriend. He is his father’s designated power of attorney, but there’s not a lot he can do about […]
Read More »Answers about the Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) Trust
The facts of life include remarriage. Almost 42 million adults in the U.S. have been married more than once, up from 22 million in 1980, according to the Pew Research Center. For older Americans, remarriage can pose estate planning problems. Even for couples who share children, potential remarriage might be a concern. And even if […]
Read More »What’s that Document Called Again?
“Mistitling of assets is one of the prominent causes of failed estate plans,” asserts Avani Ramnani, CFP®, director of financial planning and wealth management at Francis Financial, a wealth management firm in New York. What might go wrong? As an example, Daniel Timins, CFP®, an estate planning attorney in New York, says that one critical […]
Read More »The Executor’s Cheat Sheet
One of the most important things someone can do to best ensure their estate is handled without a hitch is to appoint the right person as the estate’s executor, sometimes called a representative. So what do you need to do if you’ve been appointed an executor of someone’s estate? Being selected as an executor is […]
Read More »“Will” You or Won’t You?
Natural disasters happen! Catastrophes! Accidents! Illness! No one gets out of this world alive, but we can plan to make it easier on those we leave behind. If you have accumulated assets or have minor children, you need to do some estate planning. The more complicated your life, the more complicated your planning needs to […]
Read More »Know When to Update Your Estate Plan
Updating your estate plan isn’t something you think about too often. Why should it be? You’re happy, healthy, and you have a good life. Letting the negative “what ifs” creep in only puts a damper on your day. As painful as it is to consider, estate plans are critical. If anything happens to you, it’s […]
Read More »How to Care for Your Pet … After You Pass Away
We love our pets. Nearly two-thirds of all Americans have a pet, and among those who do, nearly 70% have a dog; 50% have a cat; 11% have fish; 8% have birds; and 7% have horses, rodents or reptiles. Nearly 90% of all pet owners consider their pets to be part of their family, and […]
Read More »Check Out This Estate Sale!
The Orange County Public Administrator’s Office has dealt with its share of unusual inheritances. There was the protection they once had to arrange for a $500,000 ring. And there was the pet eel. But the upcoming estate sale of Gerald Willits, a Buena Park man who died in August 2014 and left 69 cars in […]
Read More »Are Trusts a Good Idea?
To some estate planning attorneys, trusts are the default option. Their wealthy clients generally pass assets to heirs that way. Trusts can keep inherited wealth safe; assets left outright to individuals may be vulnerable to estate tax and divorce and creditors and scam artists. That said, trusts might not always be the best choice for […]
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