The funding of a trust is necessary if you set it up as part of your estate plan but not all of your assets necessarily belong in the trust. As you go through the process of setting up an estate plan with an “irrevocable trust” or a “revocable trust,” it is important to remember that […]

Wisconsin is the latest state to take a close look at the impact of the digital world on estate planning. The digital age has had a major impact on every aspect of our lives, including estate planning – which was created at a time when paper and physical property ruled. The laws created at that […]

As the Baby Boom generation ages and begins to require assistance from their own children, they discover that their children are already busy giving assistance to their own children. Many of the generation caught in-between now find themselves “sandwiched.” The author of an article recently featured in the Washington Post explains how the Baby Boomers’ […]

Attorneys are finding more success as they fight against nursing home arbitration clauses. The fight against nursing home arbitration requirements continues in state after state across the U.S. as attorneys find that the clauses are no longer universally accepted by courts. As the New York Times reports in “Pivotal Nursing Home Suit Raises a Simple […]

People across the U.S. are increasingly finding success in turning to mediation to handle elder law issues within the family. Mediation has become increasingly popular through the years for handling disputes within families with some state courts going so far as to require a mediation attempt before hearing custody disputes. It is likely to be […]

Heirloom archaeology has been created by a non-profit group as it attempts to return heirlooms to families. A non-profit organization out of Nashville run by Chris Hodge has taken on the difficult task of doing detective work to find the living descendants of the owners of various heirlooms and return them to their rightful owners. […]

The biggest reason that approximately 75% of Americans do not have any form of advanced medical directives is they really don’t know what those are. An advanced medical directive, sometimes known as a health care proxy, which is a legal document you can execute to speak for you regarding your medical treatment if you are […]

A St. Louis case demonstrates how a blended family can be a challenge for estate planning. Both millionaires when they married in 1980, Mary Lee and Robert Hermann Sr., who had children from previous marriages, signed a prenuptial agreement aimed at protecting their own respective children. According to the Riverfront Times in “In Probate Court, […]

While payable-on-death accounts seem to be an easy answer for transfers they do not come without challenges. Payable-on-Death accounts, sometimes called Pay-on-Death or Transfer-on-Death, seem to be easy and therefore a popular method for transferring assets after the account owner dies. But this approach to estate planning must be carefully considered. The money in the […]

What happens if you receive your annual booklet on Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and your prescription drugs have been removed from list? Many seniors end up wondering what their next step is when Medicare prescription plans change the drugs they cover and a booklet with the information is sent out annually. Recently, Elder […]