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Am I Too Young to Think About Estate Planning?

Many people equate estate planning with older people who have more assets and more to protect. However, that doesn’t mean younger people should ignore the benefits of estate planning. According to Caring.com, only 34% of adults ages 35 to 44 have a will and 18% of adults ages 18 to 34 have one.

Posted on: October 15, 2019

Americans Still Aren’t Planning for The After Life

Seventy-seven percent of respondents in a recent survey said estate and legacy strategies were important for everyone, not just wealthy individuals, yet only 24% said they had taken the basic step of designating beneficiaries for all of their accounts.

Posted on: October 14, 2019

Why Advance Directives are Needed

A woman was clear about her wishes before she had a stroke — in the case of a serious medical event, she did not want a feeding tube. She had even expressed her wishes in an advance directive, years before her stroke.

Posted on: October 11, 2019

What is the significance of a Pour-Over Will?

When you create a living trust, you also sign a pour-over will. One of the main benefits of a trust is avoiding a court proceeding on death called probate, which is when wills are used.

Posted on: October 10, 2019

In Estate Planning, Fair and Equal are Different

We all have witnessed how children have a difficult time understanding why one sibling was treated differently. To overcome this, parents will make the well-intentioned mistake that fair and equal are the same.

Posted on: October 9, 2019

Still Waiting to Update Your Estate Plan?

When the ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin died last year, it was believed that she hadn’t prepared any kind of estate plan, including a last will and testament. However, a few months ago, three handwritten wills were found in her home near Detroit. Two were in a locked closet and one was stuffed beneath the cushions of a couch!

Posted on: October 8, 2019

Dark Side of Medicaid Means You Need Estate Planning

Medicaid recipients over the age of 55 are expected to repay the government for many medical expenses—and states will seize houses and other assets after those recipients die, in order to satisfy the debt.

Posted on: October 7, 2019

Ignoring Beneficiary Designations Is a Risky Business

We are programmed to contribute the “max” to our retirement accounts and we disregard, or do not understand, the pitfalls of an improperly filled-out beneficiary forms.

Posted on: October 4, 2019

Do It Yourself Estate Planning Leads to Bad Outcomes

Thanks to the Internet, everyone has the ability to draft wills, trusts and a variety of other legal documents. Many documents can be produced for less than $100, requiring only a few mouse clicks and filled-in blanks.

Posted on: October 3, 2019

Managing an Aging Parent’s Financial and Legal Life

If elderly parents aren’t good at record-keeping, a family member will need to identify this information and keep it in a place where it can be referenced when needed.

Posted on: October 2, 2019