What’s Stopping You From Creating an Estate Plan?
Many things can stop you from creating an estate plan. What’s holding you up right now? Are you taking a risk with your future? Once you know what’s standing in your way, you can take the steps necessary to overcome procrastination. Here are three of the most common reasons for holding off on estate planning. […]
How Estate Planning for a Family May Trap the Unwary Practitioner
Attorneys have long advised entire families with respect to their estate planning. Ethics require attorneys to maintain a duty of loyalty to each client they represent and fully advise their clients regarding the structures they are recommending. Sometimes even when the transaction works exactly as intended, lawyers get sued.
Choosing the right attorney
Estate planning is a meticulous process. Much like choosing a doctor, therapist, or surgeon, we have to be comfortable discussing difficult details with an attorney in order for them to be effective. You need the right guidance at the right time, all with the goal of providing you and your family peace of mind and […]
Does Your Estate Plan Address Incapacity?
At its core, estate planning is the process of ensuring that your loved ones receive your stuff after you pass away. At the same time, we must also address the realities of aging. How do we do that as part of an effective estate plan? How does an estate plan and incapacity go hand-in-hand? Aging […]
What About Remarriage?
Divorces (and subsequent remarriages) are more common today than ever before. This means we have to ask ourselves how could a divorce or remarriage affect my estate plan? Many people don’t know the answer to this fundamental question. Failing to make changes today could put your new spouse and children at risk in the future […]
Newman’s Own: Dressings, Drama, and the Sauce
When a famous individual dies, it’s always interesting to see how they set up their estate, if they bothered to undertake estate planning at all. These cases provide great lessons for Estate Planning practitioners both about what to do, as well as about what to avoid. In some cases, even when celebrities take the time to set up a proper estate plan, things go wrong. Paul Newman’s estate represents one such situation. Read on to learn more.
Does Your Estate Plan Have These Core Documents?
Everyone knows that estate planning is important, but how do we get started with it? Let’s get started by breaking it down into pieces. What are the four components of a basic, solid estate plan? Will or Trust This is the centerpiece! It answers this question – “how will my loved ones actually receive my […]
Powers of Appointment – Who Holds the Power?
Estate Planning attorneys balance competing interests when creating estate plans. Uncertainty about the future concerning taxes and each beneficiary’s situation requires flexibility in an Estate Plan. Powers of appointment offer Estate Planning attorneys a way to add flexibility to a plan without complication. When creating powers of appointment, it’s important to consider not only the reason for including the power but also the way it needs to be exercised