Family Portrait At Christmas

Being an executor is not an easy job and can be quite stressful. Many people trust one of their own children above all other potential candidates when considering the responsibilities of an executor.  However, it is not always a good idea, according to Texas Lawyer in “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be […]

deers

The distribution of real estate can be a good deal or a bad deal. One way to avoid real estate going through probate is to put someone else’s name on the ownership of the asset. However, that almost always comes out badly, according to the Daily Republic in “All Things Real Estate: Living trust best […]

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To Kill a Mockingbird put author in the limelight, but she quickly stepped out of it and has remained out. When Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, died in 2016, there was considerable publicity as writers attempted to uncover all the details of her life. They met with little success. Lee’s will […]

extended family

Wills and trust often go hand-in-hand, when it comes to estate planning. Should you decide to use an online service instead of going to an estate planning attorney, you may find yourself with a trust but then learn you also need a will, according to the Lake County News in “The difference between a trust […]

human miniature standing over piled coins

As size of estates increase, so do the number of challenges. However, success isn’t easy to come by. As the number of wealthy estates increase, both the U.S. and Canada find themselves in challenges brought about by people who believe they didn’t get their fair share, according to The Globe and Mail in “Left out of […]

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Create a second trust and the first is revoked? It doesn’t work that way. A common question was presented to a column about trusts, according to the NWI Times in “Can an individual establish more than one trust?“. The question was if a second trust wipes out the first trust. The confusion over trusts is […]

Children Holding Hands on School Playground

Protecting assets for your minor heirs can be a challenge. If you plan on leaving assets to minors, you can leave it to the courts to decide on the best person to handle the funds or you can do it yourself through an estate plan, according to the Times Herald-Record in “Proper legal planning for […]

Minority Family

Some simple documents will go a long way in protecting you as retirement age approaches. While many people are concerned an estate plan has to be complicated, you often only need a few simple documents prepared by an estate planning attorney, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in “Five legal documents you need by 55.” […]

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If a loved one passes away without a will and you handle the estate, you should know what steps to take. If a relative dies without a will and you are chosen to distribute assets to family members, you will most likely find it is not a simple process, according to the Napa Valley Register […]

Happy old couple

Once you take the first couple of steps, it often becomes an easy process. You may only need a few documents to get your estate plan underway but people often delay because of the concern of complications, according to Forbes in “More Than Half of Americans Don’t Have These Essential Estate Documents, Do You?“. The […]