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Help for Growing Old Gracefully and Peacefully
There is a saying that goes something along the lines of “the only thing worse than getting old is the alternative,” which is said to express pretty well the dismay, betrayal, confusion and sometimes horror that go along with the aging process. Americans are living longer than ever—which really means that there are more opportunities […]
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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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A Book You Won’t Want to Miss…
I am pleased to share with you that I am one of the featured authors in a new book published by the Wealth Builders Press, entitled Estate Planning Strategies, Collective Wisdom and Proven Techniques. This book is informative and accessible, and has been described by one reviewer as “an invaluable resource and ‘must-have’ for both […]
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Time to Re-emphasize the Basics
With all the worrying you’ve been doing about the economy, the stock market, and shrinking investments, have you given any thought to how your existing estate plan may be affected by all of this? The New York Times has. And what they’ve found is hopeful. Although estates may be smaller, there’s now more room for […]
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The Sleepy Field of Estate Planning—Until Now
When people think of lawyers they usually think of the fast-paced lives of the characters in John Grisham’s legal dramas, or maybe the dramatic and exciting courtroom scenes from the movie A Few Good Men. But Estate Planning Law, unlike litigation practices, has never been like that. Estate Planning has always been a calm area […]
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Make the Most of IRA Distributions—Carefully
When we talk to clients about “the estate” they will pass on to their heirs, that estate includes a number of components: home, life insurance, bank accounts, investment accounts, secondary properties, and IRAs or other retirement assets. Many people consider their IRA the least of the assets in their estate, because they intend to spend […]
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Time to Update Your Estate Plan
If you are one of the thoughtful people who already have an estate plan you may be looking at the news stories about President Obama and his changes to the estate tax and wondering if it will affect your plan. “How long ago did I create my plan?” is the inevitable question we ask ourselves, […]
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Eeny Meeny Miney Mo
Choosing your fiduciaries can be one of the most difficult parts of creating your estate plan, especially choosing trustees for your trust, which, depending on the circumstances, you may hope will be in existence for quite a long time. Most people’s first instinct is to choose a family member, someone they know and trust, perhaps […]
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