Why would parents procrastinate on something that it so important to their family’s well-being? The fact of the matter is that life insurance and estate planning are two topics that most people just don’t want to talk about. It is no fun to think about your own demise and picture…
His Will was written before the birth of his last two children and never updated; thus, his estate plan is completely silent about his wishes for them. The actor's death also highlights the effect that marriage can have on an estate plan. It seems that once a high-profile celebrity passes…
No one wants to leave their heirs with a mess to sort out or fight over. Here's a look at the top six things to remember when you're estate planning for a blended family. If you are remarried, how does the new marriage affect your estate planning? There are many…
Did you think estate planning would be easier because you don’t have children … or that you don’t really need an estate plan? If so, you couldn’t be more wrong! The website dailycall.com recently posted an article, titled "Aging and estate planning for singles and couples without children," to help…
You may have made a giant estate planning mistake without even knowing it — forgetting to update the names of your beneficiaries for your employer-sponsored retirement plans, IRAs, life insurance policies, mutual funds, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, annuities and 529 college savings plans. The recent MarketWatch article, titled “Don’t make…
If there is a boogeyman when it comes to family conversations about inheritance, it is not death. It’s the $40 trillion that financial advisers say their baby boomer clients are going to pass to their children either in an orderly way — or in a chaotic mess. A report by…
If Lou Reed had used a revocable living trust, and transferred his assets into the trust during his life, then all of this information would have been kept private. No one would know how much he had, whom he left it to, or how much his executors were charging. When…
Death of the borrower triggers the loan payoff, but the estate and heirs will never owe more than what the home is worth. Family homes are unique assets. And like many assets, family homes can be as complicated as they are meaningful. Even when heirs inherit a home with no…
A no-contest clause may be a good idea if you have a beneficiary who may be upset by the property distributed to him or her. Consider this common estate plan predicament: you are drafting a will and know that if it is challenged by a spurned heir or for anyone…
The process of selling a relative’s home is likely going to be emotional, from the sorting of the personal belongings to the finalization of the sale at the closing table. Expect that. And surround yourself with professionals who will be empathetic and helpful. Many would agree that selling a home…