As a real estate owner, it’s important to consider what will happen to your property (or properties) upon your death. With the right approach, you can ensure that it doesn’t go through probate, which saves your beneficiary both time and money. A Lady Bird deed is one of the most efficient and inexpensive ways to … Read more
The holidays are a great time to review the past year and make plans for the upcoming one. Part of those plans should be reviewing your Estate Plan and considering what, if any, steps you should take to help you achieve your goals. One of the easiest, but most overlooked, ways to do some quick planning is to take advantage of the annual per donee exclusion amount which can have a tremendous impact on reducing the estate without use of the applicable exclusion amount.
Offers that sound too good to be true usually are. The unscrupulous try to draw you in and then sell you services that are not appropriate for you. Unfortunately, as with almost any other product or service, there are scam artists, often called a “trust mill,” that purport to offer estate planning services at a bargain. These … Read more
Do you own “real” property? Are you looking for a way to avoid probate? If you answered yes to both questions, a transfer on death deed may be right for you. This simple document can help you inexpensively and efficiently avoid probate for real estate. In the most basic of terms,this kind of deed allows … Read more
The best Estate Planners stay current on the latest trends. The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys held its semi-annual conference providing education on selected topics designed to inspire excellence in its Members. Read on to learn more about the unique experience at the Fall Summit 2022 Conference.
Death is a certainty so have a discussion with family. When we are adolescents, we feel invulnerable to risks and think of death as an uncertain concept. In the prime of our life, we know the risks, but we still think of planning for “if I die.” When we pass life’s prime, death is not nearly … Read more
When creating an estate plan, it’s easy to focus so much attention on a will that you overlook the benefits of a revocable living trust. Before we discuss the primary benefits of a revocable living trust, let’s examine the word “revocable.” If at any point you want to change or revoke your trust, you have … Read more
As the world shrinks due to increased mobility and interconnectedness, estate planning has become more complex. Now estate planning requires understanding issues that arise when a client owns assets in another country or resides in the U.S. but lacks citizen status. Things change for clients who neither reside in the U.S., nor have U.S. citizenship, but who own U.S. property.
The death of someone near and dear can be a stressful and confusing time. Your life is disrupted emotionally and logistically by the loss and your grief. Who will take care of everything? Who has what responsibilities? Let’s look at the different roles involved after someone’s death: Executor—The Executor or Executrix, also known as the … Read more
When a celebrity passes away, it’s natural for their estate plan to get a lot of attention in the media. And that’s definitely the case if an inheritance battle ensues. Earlier this year, musician Aaron Carter unexpectedly passed away at the age of 34 years old. With no Will in place, it wasn’t long before … Read more