Category Archives: Estate Planning

DIY Probate: Don’t Do It!

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With a defective deed or a deed discovered before the owner dies, address problems by preparing and recording a corrective deed. Do so in the applicable public land records, depending on your state law. Do this only with the assistance of an attorney. In this way, you will ensure that the correction is actually a correction and causes no additional issues with the deed or property title.

Scary Estate Stories: Left Out of Your Parent’s Estate Plan?  

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More than half of millennials say they expect to inherit approximately $350,000 or more from their aging parents. But baby boomers say they plan to leave far less than that to their kids. One survey found that many do not plan to leave behind any money.In another study, just 26 percent of Americans, including 22 percent of baby boomers, said they expect to leave an inheritance 

How to Choose a Conservator for Yourself

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You may run into situations in which third parties require the nominated individual to exercise explicit authority. They may need to complete tasks or manage your financial affairs. If this is the case, you will want it done in a way that is not provided through a signed financial POA. In these cases, if you no longer have capacity, your loved ones may need to go before a judge. 

Incapacity Planning and Pets

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Its terms do not apply when the pet owner is alive but incapacitated and can no longer care for the pet. That’s where incapacity planning comes in. Therefore, the pet could be left in legal limbo if the owner is sick, comatose, disabled, or otherwise unable to care for their pet.

Estate Plan Costs

How to contain estate plan costs

Generally, a more complicated estate plan (for example, a plan that includes continuing trusts, tax planning, or asset protection planning) will cost more, as it requires more time to prepare and a more experienced attorney. We caution you, however, from creating an estate plan that is overly simplistic and does not fully align with your goals just to save money on legal fees. A good estate planning attorney can recommend the “just right” estate plan to fit your needs without overcomplicating things and charging unnecessary fees for tools and features you do not need. 

Residuary Beneficiaries

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It is not unprecedented for a family to discover a high-worth asset such as artwork or sports memorabilia that belonged to a late relative but was not part of their estate plan. It is also possible that an asset not thought to be valuable turns out to be worth a great deal of money. 

Without Your Spouse: Estate Planning

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A power of attorney addresses who can act on your behalf for financial and medical matters. In some cases, a power of attorney takes effect only if you are unable to manage your affairs; at other times, it can take effect immediately. A power of attorney can be general and grant another person broad authority to handle your affairs for you, or it can describe only those specific matters you want another person to handle on your behalf. 

Conditional Inheritance

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When raising children, most parents hope to shape their children’s behaviors, provide them with specific values, and help them become productive members of society. Parents often use a “carrot and stick” approach to get the desired outcomes, incentivizing approved actions with rewards and discouraging unapproved actions with punishments.