It sounds like a nightmare scenario, and for many elderly, it is a reality: a court appoints a guardian and they lose the ability to make decisions about their assets and their lives, often with no advance warning. An article in Reuters reports on a journalist’s investigation that revealed a…
The moment you become a parent, you need a will. The same is true once you acquire any kind of asset that you want to give to someone after you die. It’s really that simple. The reasons why so many people don’t think they need a will fall into a…
Estate planning for entrepreneurs is not complete until it includes a succession plan. Individuals who create successful businesses often find it hard to consider handing over the reins. Entrepreneurs would not succeed without their ability to focus all of their energies on their business. It is not easy for this…
Many people put off doing their wills because of the difficulty of deciding on a guardian for their minor children. But if choosing one is difficult, choosing two might actually make the process easier. This is the situation no one wants to even think about: both parents dying unexpectedly and…
In many cases, the incapacitated person does need the protection of a guardian. But far too often, the guardian is the source of abuse, and the lack of oversight leads to appalling situations. Celebrity cases where persons appointed as guardians fleece their relatives or sequester them against their wills in…
Much needed changes are underway at the Clark County Nevada Guardianship program, after a local television reporter uncovered major lack of oversight, including families torn apart and financial abuse by the individuals charged with protecting the elderly. According to a follow-up report by KTNV News, "More staff means more oversight…
Guardianship is a fairly straightforward and basic function. A person who is not able to handle her or his own affairs, for any number of reasons, is assigned a guardian by the court, who is to act on their behalf for financial, medical and care-taking purposes. The guardian is charged…
Naming a guardian for minor children is never a pleasant task, but this situation makes a compelling argument for why it is so important. A Texas Attorney General with legal problems was appointed guardian of a large trust for two minor siblings and certain facts don’t seem quite right. That…
“We are delighted to inform the public that the court has appointed Bobby Brown and Pat Houston as co-guardians of Bobbi Kristina Brown (‘Krissi’),” read a statement issued by David Long-Daniels, counsel for Pat Houston and Cissy Houston, and Christopher Brown, an attorney for Bobby Brown. “Both Mr. Brown and…
No will? If you are married with young children and both parents die who becomes the children’s guardian will be up to the state’s court system. If you do not have a will, Texas estate laws and the probate judge may decide who will get your assets if you die.…