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“Mom, Dad… It’s Time for an Estate Plan”
So many clients come into our office, finish signing their estate plan, start to lean back with a sigh of relief only to sit straight up again and say “My parents really need to do this! I wish they would listen to me and come in to see you.” How can adult children persuade stubborn […]
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Small Business Owners Require Unique Planning Strategies
Jane Austen once wrote “There will be little rubs and disappointments everywhere, and we are all apt to expect too much; but then, if one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another; if the first calculation is wrong, we make a second better.” Such an (eventually) optimistic philosophy is good to have in […]
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Will You Leave A Gift—Or A Mess?
Do you consider yourself an organized person? It seems that when it comes to organization some people have the gift for it and some people simply don’t. If you’ve ever had (or have currently) the overwhelming job of sorting through the estate of a deceased loved one, you know how very grateful you can be […]
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The Fine Art of Informing Your Fiduciaries
At the end of the day, when all of the decisions have been made and documents have been signed, many estate planning clients still have one question: Should I tell my Fiduciaries that I’ve nominated them as executor, healthcare agent, guardian, etc; and how much should I tell them? The answer to the question is […]
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The Consequence of Silence
The second annual National Healthcare Decisions Day is coming up on April 16, and there has never been more reason to consider what your own wishes are, and especially to make those wishes known. As difficult as it may be to think about the end of your parent’s, your child’s or your own life, not […]
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The Most Important Part of Your Estate Plan
We are asked often, what is the most important component of an estate plan? This is a question that comes up a lot in an estate planning law practice, and as you might guess, different families will have different answers. The Trust: Many families feel that this is the heart of the estate plan, and […]
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Be Prepared
As an estate planning firm it is our job to keep our clients prepared for what’s coming. This means helping prepare them not only for the eventuality of death, but also for what is coming in life; retirement, the possibility of divorce, new children or grandchildren, and even taxes. Taxes especially are of great concern […]
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Finding How to Live
An estate planning office can sometimes feel a lot like it’s all about the logistics of death: who gets what and how, who gets to make decisions, where things are kept, etc. But at our office, we enjoy helping clients with the process because we know that every estate plan is more about a personal […]
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Motivate Your Heirs With an Incentive Trust
In these troubled financial times many parents are re-thinking the wisdom of passing on an inheritance with no strings attached. Parents and grandparents still want to help give their heirs a financial boost, but now they want to pass on something else as well—the value of resourcefulness and hard work. How often have you longed […]
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Should You Share Your Estate Plan With Your Heirs?
If you have a significant estate to leave to your heirs—but you are still alive and well—to whom does that significant estate belong, you or them? This seem a silly question, of course the property belongs to you, but many adult children have come to count on the property their parents will leave them, and—rightly […]
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