Our blog includes posts about a wide range of estate planning topics, including trust-based estate plans, estate planning when you have a disabled adult child, planning as part of a blended family, and planning for charitable giving. To learn more, contact our office to discuss how we can help you create an estate plan that best fits your needs.
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Inherited Debt That Will Not Go AwayMost of the time family members and other heirs are not responsible for a deceased person's debts. Any debts are paid out of the estate before it is distributed to the heirs. However, there are some exceptions including one that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, co-signed private student loans. A...
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Don't Discount the Importance of Keeping Your Estate Plan Up-To-Date!There is a sense of accomplishment when an estate plan is executed. In fact, it’s quite common for people to sign documents and file them away for safe keeping and forget about them. The danger is that these individuals and families may believe that these matters require no further attention....
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Recently Divorced: Where Do I Start?You may have juggled a zillion family responsibilities both in and out of the house. But chances are you didn't handle everything. Perhaps your husband handled the investments. Or dealt with advisers, such as a CPA or a lawyer. But now, after a divorce or the death of your husband,...
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How to Motivate Your Kids to Be More Productive and Self-ReliantRecently rock legend Sting made headlines when he declared that his six children would be receiving little to none of his estimated $300 million fortune. He joked that he intended to spend all of his money before he died. But on a more serious note, he explained that he wanted...
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US Supreme Court Says IRAs Fair Game for DebtsThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled that certain money inherited from individual retirement accounts can be taken by creditors to cover the debts of people in bankruptcy proceedings. In a unanimous ruling written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court said inherited IRA money not received from a spouse isn't protected in...
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Planning for Digital AssetsLegislation addressing estate planning in the digital realm is headed for the Delaware General Assembly. A new bill from Rep. Darryl Scott (D-Dover) would require companies like Google to hand over control of users accounts to a trusted person outlined in their will. Companies would be required to give estate...
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Levels of Asset ProtectionEach person's situation is unique and an asset protection plan must be custom-tailed to address the particular risks, assets and family needs or other objectives or concerns. While a custom plan is needed, the following is a list of the general levels of protection that we should all consider: Level...
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What Can Impact My Estate Planning?From probate and ownership division to the taxing arm of Uncle Sam, here are some ideas that can influence what happens to your belongings. Remember, everything you own is considered part of your estate when you die. To grasp the importance of planning for the distribution of your worldly goods,...
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Estate Planning: Check Your Beneficiary DesignationsWith today's relatively generous $5.34 million federal estate tax exemption, you may think estate planning is only a concern for the rich. Wrong! Regardless of your income or net worth, there's one estate planning move you should probably make right now: Check the beneficiary designations for your life insurance policies,...
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Do Your Estate Planning So Grieving Relatives Don't Have That BurdenOnly 35 percent of Americans have a will, according to a 2012 survey by FindLaw.com, a legal information Web site. If you die intestate, which is what dying without a valid will is called, your assets could be distributed according to the laws of your state or as the result...
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Will Your Loved Ones Know What to Do When You Are Gone?If you’ve named your children, relatives or friends to be in charge as “Successor Trustee” of your Living Trust when you pass away, they probably have no idea of what to do! After all, they’ve probably never served as a Trustee before! Unfortunately… What your Successor Trustee doesn’t know could...
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That's it ...You're Out of the Will!For testators who have been actively involved in the dynamics of their own family for decades, disinheritance might be an easy decision. For estate planners, however, disinheritance is a difficult issue to deal with that must be addressed adequately or can leave an estate plan open to challenge after the...