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…
Whether you and your spouse have a pre or post nuptial agreement, they are a good way to make divorce or death a little less overwhelming. If you are wealthy, expect an inheritance or have been married before and have children from a prior marriage, you may want to consider…
It’s been three years since music icon Prince died at his famous Paisley Park mansion, joining the ranks of many celebrities who died without an estate plan. Prince’s estate, which includes master tapes of his recordings and a 10,000-square-foot Caribbean villa, has been estimated at $200 million. However, what it…
One of the challenges of asset distribution comes when your children’s lives have taken different turns. Do you leave your successful daughter the same amount of money that you would leave to a son, who can’t seem to find a direction? It’s not always easy, but decisions do need to…
It’s hard because you want to be sure your chosen person understands your wishes, your financial situation and can make good decisions on your behalf. Not everyone can do that. There is considerable responsibility that comes with being named an executor of an estate, explains MoneySense in the article “Should…
The idea that spouses and their stepchildren will share the legal power to make health care decision sounds good in theory, but, in practice, there may be some unexpected side effects. Simple things get complicated in blended families. The idea that stepchildren and a spouse will work together to make…
It seems like families need to spend more time discussing estate plans and their finances, especially if they are blended families, to prevent major disruptions. For the second consecutive year, family conflict was named as the biggest treat to estate planning by estate planning and elder law attorneys and other…
You’ve heard the expression “trust fund babies.” However, trusts are not just for the wealthy. They have a number of uses in estate planning and can be helpful at any asset level. The reality of our own mortality keeps some of us up at night. For others, it’s a disturbing…
People think of estate plans as one-off documents, but they should think of them more like cars. Estate plans need maintenance, oil changes, tune-ups and if there’s an accident, repairs. As life progresses, you’ll go through a number of stages, from being a teen to an adult, getting married, retiring,…
Early adult life is simple. You may or may not have children, a car, a lease on an apartment. However, by the time you reach your 50s and 60s, you likely have some decent assets, like retirement accounts, investments, real estate and maybe even a few collectible cars. You’ll want…