Mom or Dad has passed away and left a trust. You are named a beneficiary of the trust. Your brother or sister is the trustee. Do you really know what a trust is or does? Do you know what to …
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With Trust-Based Estate Planning Fees, You Get What You Pay For
You have been thinking about a trust-based estate plan. Many people choose a trust-based estate plan over a will-based estate plan. In our practice, most of our clients choose trust-based estate plans because they want the protections that a trust …
You Don’t Need $1 Million for a Trust
You keep on hearing about trusts. Should you have one or should you not? The most common misconception that we hear on a fairly regular basis is “I don’t have enough assets to have a trust.” I heard it again …
Saving for Retirement with IRAs
Have you been saving for retirement? If not, you are with the majority of American households age 55 and older. According to a 2015 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, only 48% of American households age 55 and over have …
Top 8 Trust Funding Mistakes
You have your trust. You were told that to make it work, it has to be funded. Your estate planner maybe did a deed or a beneficiary designation, and then you were told that you had to do the rest …
Joint Ownership Fraught with Peril
Last week, we discussed financial powers of attorney and how they are increasingly being dishonored. You may think that you have the answer to the problem by using joint ownership. You may have been told by the teller that with …
Funding Real Estate into Your Trust Not as Simple as a Quit Claim Deed
You have your trust. You felt pretty good having it done. But then you were told that your trust will not work the way you want it and avoid probate unless you fund it. But what is this funding and …
Savvy Saving for Yourself
You have worked hard all your life. You scrimped and saved. You sacrificed to provide for your family. The kids are out of the house and on their own. You have saved a tidy sum. You do not seem to …
Healthcare Issues
In your estate plan, if you are like most people, you want to make sure that you are in control while you are alive and well, that you and your loved ones are provided for when you are not so …
Downsize and Simplify
You are still living in the home in which you raised the kids. It is the family homestead. You have lots of memories in that home. The kids moved out decades ago. You do not use or need the other …