Blog Articles

If you don’t have a spouse or children, you might think you don’t need to do much estate planning. However, if you have any assets, any familial connections, any interest in supporting charitable groups – not to mention a desire to control your own future – you do need to establish an estate plan.

An estate plan tells your heirs and the courts how to divide up your assets, but it also helps protect your loved ones from unnecessary hassle and expense–as well as potentially months, even years, tied up in the court system settling your estate.

Perhaps one of the most difficult, and increasingly common, estate planning questions involves the inclusion or disinheritance of an estranged child.

A trustee is a fiduciary which, essentially, is a person that owes a legal, ethical and, perhaps, moral obligation to act in the interest of another.

Every estate that holds titled property must be probated if title to that property is not transferred using some other wealth transfer method.

Many people have signed at least one power of attorney in their life. A power of attorney, which names a trusted family member, friend or advisor as your ‘attorney-in-fact’ to control your assets, is meant to be used if you are incapacitated.

Trust funds are not just for the ultra-rich. These sophisticated estate-planning tools can make just as much sense for middle-class Americans who own a home and have a net worth of at least $100,000.

A second marriage can be a balm for the heartache of losing a spouse, be it through death or divorce. Nevertheless, if there are children or other heirs involved, you should consider carefully what will happen with your money and possessions, when you pass on.

If you have a mortgage, you might worry about what that means for your heirs and loved ones. Will they be able to keep your home, and who will be responsible for paying for it?

One of the biggest concerns a trust creator might have is that the beneficiary would squander their inheritance or that the beneficiary’s creditor would attach the inheritance to cover the beneficiary’s debt.