In many cases, knowledge is power. But in estate planning, knowledge by itself can be a dangerous thing. You need to pair knowledge of the most common estate planning mistakes with another kind of knowledge: what to DO about those mistakes. And we would even add a third thing: knowing…
To the digerati – the elite of the technology world – Bitcoins are as valuable as the dollar or any other state-sponsored currency. But the rules are still under development for estate planning purposes, and planning for an estate that includes Bitcoins must take this into account. Most people know…
For many Americans, the majority of non-real estate assets are their retirement accounts and life insurance policies. However, a large number of people forget to update their designated beneficiaries, which can lead to key assets going to unintended beneficiaries. An unusual fact pattern cited here reminds us of the importance…
Fran had just learned that her deceased husband Ed’s life insurance proceeds were going to be paid to his ex-wife Sally. As Fran found out from her lawyer, beneficiary designations can be the trump card of estate planning. You heard that right. The ex-wife Sally will get the life insurance…
One of the colossal failures in estate planning I witness when people make their wills is not coordinating the will with the overall beneficiary designations they have chosen. Does your will surpass your beneficiary designations on financial accounts? A recent Wall Street Journal article, titled "How People Undermine Their Own…