If you are like most parents, you want to treat your children fairly when giving lifetime gifts or a share of your estate. You have worked hard over your lifetime to accumulate your property. You should be able to give …
Currently browsing Estate Planning
What If The Estate Has More Debt
What if Mom or Dad has died and they have really racked up the debts? In order to pay the bills, they took out home equity loans or charged up thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on their credit …
Health Care Powers
Have you ever thought about who would make your medical or mental health treatment decisions if you could not because of incapacity due to an accident, illness or injury? You probably have thought about it, but have you done anything …
What Do We Do With The Car
Have you ever thought about what is going to happen with the family car after your death? The answer is the typical legal answer, depends; and I am not talking about the kind you wear. If your car is in …
Incapacity and Financial Powers of Attorney
Have you ever thought about what would happen to your real estate, bank accounts, investments and other property (your “stuff”) if you could not take care of them because of incapacity due to an accident, illness or injury? How would …
Staggering Your Retirement
You may have retired but your spouse has not. The Center for Retirement Research indicates only 20% of couples retire in the same year and that 50% still have one spouse working two years after the other spouse has retired. …
Essential Estate Planning Documents
Many people think of estate planning as death planning. However, estate planning also includes lifetime planning which would be making sure that you are taken care of in the event you became incapacitated and also that your property is taken …
Unraveling the Mysteries of Annuities
You may have invested some of your nest egg in an annuity. Annuities can be useful tools as part of a diversified investment portfolio. However, you may be unaware of the terms and conditions of your annuities, especially when the …
Retirement Plan Distributions
You may have a traditional or rollover IRA or other retirement accounts. The funds that are held inside these retirement accounts have not been taxed and grow (hopefully) income tax free. You are taxed on the retirement funds only when …
I’m A Trustee What Do I Do Now
You may have been named as successor trustee of Mom or Dad’s trust. Do you really know what that entails? Do you know what your obligations are? As a successor trustee, your primary duty is to preserve and protect the …