Estate planning is even more important for individuals and couples without children. Without an estate plan, your assets may go to long-lost relatives you’ve never met. You also need to plan for incapacity, especially if there are no living relatives. While your legacy may be different if you don’t have…
Unless you are raised in a family that talks about money, values and planning, starting a conversation with elderly parents about the same topics can be a little awkward. However, it is necessary. In a perfect world, we’d all have our estate plans created when we started working, updated when…
“By the time Groucho was an old man, however, he experienced significant problems in his daily activities, medical decision-making and the management of his estate. He suffered from elements of dementia, a heart attack and congestive heart failure, falls resulting in a broken hip, and after that hip was repaired,…
One of the reasons for a pre-nuptial agreement, is to clarify who owns what in the marriage, and what happens to property if the marriage should dissolve. In a community property state, everything is “ours.” If you live in a community property state, like Texas, and you are married, both…
Estate planning is not as much fun as vacation planning, but it is something you do for your loved ones to save them a lot of stress. It can also provide a surprising sense of relief to have this task completed. It’s hard for anyone to consider their own mortality.…
When you die, the assets you’ve accumulated during your lifetime have to be distributed. If you don’t make a plan, your family may be left to clean up a legal mess, quarrel amongst themselves, or watch as a long-lost family member is given everything by a court decision. An estate…
If you are among the millions of Americans who prefer to lease a car rather than buy it, you have obligations that are spelled out in the lease agreement. That contract and the laws of your state direct what happens, when a lease owner passes away. What if the salesman…
Digital property needs to be addressed in your estate plan just as tangible assets like real estate. Not planning for a digital afterlife is increasingly important. How many hours do you spend on your smart phone, laptop or desktop, busy with work emails, personal emails, social media platforms, gaming, networking…
Estate planning requires making some of the most important decisions a parent can make for their child’s well-being. Single parents need to plan in advance for what will happen to their children, whether they are minors or adults. That includes preparing for the parent’s incapacity, as much as it does…
Asset titling is the sticking point, where many estate plans fail. The best plan can be undone, if assets are not retitled or accounts are not funded. Retitling assets means just that—changing the name of the asset, whether it’s a deed to a home or a name of an insurance…