Category Archives: Estate Planning

Choosing the Right Trustee

Trust banner web icon for Mutual Fund and investment, Settlor, Trustee, Beneficiary, Property and manager. Minimal vector infographic.

This person is a trusted decision maker who is tasked with handling all matters that relate to your trust. Depending on the type of trust, you could be the trustee in the beginning and need someone else to act as trustee only when you are unable to manage the trust, or you could select a trustee to act immediately.

Navigate Probate: How to do it effectively

Vintage compass and old navigation map.

In more recent years, states simplify probate procedures. For example, the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) consists of laws written by a group of national experts. As such, it helps to standardize and streamline probate. As a result, most states have adopted these standards. Across state lines, the probate process generally works more effectively.

Unemployment: How to Protect Your Family

Unemployment Rates Soar

Seek out resources if you lost your job through no fault of your own. Some employers offer severance packages. And in many cases, you could collect unemployment benefits. Depending on state law and your former employer’s policy, a payout of accrued vacation and sick leave may fund source of liquidity to sustain you for a while.

Celebrity Trust: Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley Ceelbrity Trust Lisa Marie

Born in 1968 to Elvis and Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie followed in the footsteps of her father as far as heart trouble. While her father died from a heart attack at the age of 42, she died due to heart problems nearly 46 years later, in January 2023.

Honoring Military Appreciation Month

Military Appreciation Month May Elder Law

Military personnel are entitled to a host of benefits that can significantly impact estate planning. These include pensions, healthcare benefits, survivor benefits, and life insurance programs. These benefits, when properly incorporated into an estate plan, can provide a significant financial safety net for the service member’s family.

Beneficiaries: Barbecue & Estate Planning Similarities

Barbecue grill logo on black background 8 eps

When creating your estate plan, decide who to assign as your beneficiaries. These are the individuals who will inherit your money and property when you pass away. Beneficiaries often include a spouse or partner, children and stepchildren, grandchildren, other relatives, friends, charitable organizations, and/or a church.

Pet Trust: Giving Your Pet a Good Life

Pet trusts fancy dog

Who would care for your pet if you die or somehow face incapacitation? Would your survivors know how to give your pet the same level of care you provide? A good way to ensure your pet is well cared for if something happens to you is to create a pet trust.

Deathbed Gifts

Deathbed Incapacity Planning

Although gifts made within three years of your death are generally includible in your estate, an exception exists if a gift tax return was not required to be filed because the value of the gift was less than the annual exclusion amount. Transfers relating to life insurance policies, however, are an exception to this exception.