Although you may not own millions, your estate needs a proper legal plan, or an estate lesson plan. Estate is a general term referring to everything you own.
Author Archives: Skvarna Law
Regardless of why a parent would disinherit a child, they should not disinherit as a tool to manipulate. Disinherited children may feel angry. This could lead to turmoil within the family.
Naming your partner as the pay-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary often leads to pitfalls. Some of these occur when you name them on beneficiary designation forms. The POD or TOD option allows you to maintain control of the account during your lifetime.
Making your partner a joint owner iseasy. Simply give them immediate access to and control over an account or property. Keep the account or property owned jointly, with the right of survivorship.
An SRT is a special type of trust. It designates the intended beneficiary of your retirement accounts after you die.
No matter the month, wedding planning usually includes tuxedos, dresses, rehearsal dinners, guest lists, and the honeymoon. However, too many couples fail to consider an important element that should make every “to do” list – a couples estate plan.
An important first step for creating an estate plan? Take an inventory of your money and property. Regardless of your wealth or financial struggles, everything you own is part of your estate and should be listed–or at least accounted for– in your inventory.
Many parents express concern their in-laws becoming outlaws. Their children may divorce. In this case, a divorcing spouse could seize their children’s inherited money and property .
Distressed children often call estate planning attorneys. Their deceased parents wrote a will or a trust without itemizing an inventory. So the kids have no idea which accounts, insurance policies, or items of real and personal property their parent owned.
While many assume that a will or trust signed in an attorney’s office is valid, such is not always the case. Attorneys who do not specialize in estate planning may be unfamiliar with the formalities required to make a will or trust legally valid in their state.