“I don’t have to worry about probate because I have a quit claim deed.” You have probably heard this statement from family or friends or have said it yourself. You may attempt to do your own mini estate plan by …
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Serving As Guardian
You have been asked to be the guardian of the children of one of your siblings or a close family friend in the event of that person’s incapacity or death. You are flattered that someone would trust his or her …
With Estate Planning Fees You Get What You Pay For – Part I
I regularly get asked, “How much does a will cost?” Or, “How much is a trust?” Well, this is not a simple question to answer because a will or a trust is only a single component in an overall estate …
Medical Directives
If you are permanently mentally incapacitated and are on life support, would you like your loved ones to be able to make decisions for you? Would you like to have your loved ones to be able to withhold and withdraw …
Newlyweds Need Planning Too
You are about to get married or have just been married. Would you like your fiancé or new spouse to be able to make decisions for you if you became mentally incapacitated as a result of an accident or injury? …
Small Estates Avoid Probate
Aunt Bessie died and all she left was a bank account in her own name with about $18,000 in it. Her will said that you were to get everything. So you take the will to the bank to get the …
Health Care Powers
I continue to get questions regarding estate planning basics. So I will continue with a discussion about making health care decisions. Have you ever thought about who would make your medical or mental health treatment decisions if you could not …
Now What Do We Do With the House
Mom and Dad are now gone, but they left the house. What is going to happen? What do you do? The answer is: “It depends.” But on what? It depends upon how the property is titled. Different titling requires different …
Probate Avoidance 101
I regularly have people come into my office and say “My estate is simple” and think that not much work will be involved in planning their estate. Their estate plan is usually anything but simple. What you may think is …
Even Estates of the Rich & Famous Can Crash & Burn
If you are like most people, statistically 70%, you have done no estate planning. If that is the case, you are in good(bad) company. There are many others that also have not planned. You would think that attorneys, trained legal …