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More than half of the states in the U.S. have laws requiring adult children to provide care and support for elderly parents. Laws have been passed in 28 states that require adult children to provide financial support for their elderly parents, if the parents are unable to pay their own bills, according to the Wills, […]

Many elder Americans prefer to just live together, rather than deal with some issues. Today, rather than getting married, many elderly people are just moving in together and foregoing a marriage certificate, according to The New York Times in “More Older Couples Are ‘Shacking Up’.” Getting remarried later in life has created many issues for […]

The long-awaited tax plan of President Trump is released and, if approved, will have a huge impact. The White House has released the Trump administration’s tax plan and it does include the elimination of the estate tax, according to The New York Times in “White House Proposes Slashing Tax Rates, Significantly Aiding Wealthy.” The President’s […]

Daughter sues her mother for wasting $13 million of inheritance. A trust set up for a young girl was originally overseen by Citibank. However, in 2003 the mother took over the trust creating a battle in the future, according to the Daily Mail in “Daughter sues her ‘self-involved’ mother for ‘frittering away more than $13m of […]

This TV doctor is brilliant, but also kills people in the off hours through physician-assisted suicide. In a TV show that is imported from Canada, a brilliant doctor is killing people by performing physician-assisted suicide, according to The New York Times review “Review: ‘Mary Kills People,’ but It’s for a Good Reason.” While the Times […]

There are some basic estate planning mistakes. Some of them are revealed in a podcast. John B. made some basic estate planning mistakes in a podcast, according to a Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog discussion in “Estate Planning Lessons from John B.” Millions of people tuned in to hear the story in Serial of […]

Estate planning remains important, even if the estate tax goes away. The elimination of the estate tax is included in the Trump administration’s tax plan proposal. However, the path forward is not simple, according to Financial Advisor in “Estate Planning: It’s Not Over.” Even though a big part of modern estate planning is planning around the […]

Cash for expenses should be included in an estate plan. Some advice on how to plan for your family to access cash while your estate is being settled comes from South Africa by way of Personal Finance in “Will your family avoid a cash-flow crisis on your death?“. The advice is equally applicable in the […]

You can create your own will. However, mistakes can turn out to be costly. There are hidden dangers in creating your own will, according to The New York Times in “Wills Can Avert Family Warfare, but Have Their Own Hidden Traps.” Most Americans do not have a will but a greater percentage of Americans have them […]

In order for your will and other estate planning documents to be useful, it is important they get into the hands of your executor. Many people believe that a safe and secure place for their estate plan is in a safety deposit box at a bank.  However, it turns out that isn’t true, according to […]