Estate Planning, Probate, Power of Attorney Blogs & More

• Posted in: Estate Planning

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 […]

• Posted in: Books

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 […]

• Posted in: Current Affairs

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 […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

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 […]

• Posted in: Asset Protection

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 […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

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, […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

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 […]

• Posted in: Elder Law

When elderly parents fall in love it affects more than just the lovers, it has an impact on their concerned children as well. This is especially true when the lovebirds want to make significant changes in their lives; things such as getting married or moving in with each other. In Monday’s post we shared a […]

• Posted in: Elder Law

Ah, it’s spring again…and love is in the air.  The equinox is only a couple of weeks away, and although it’s not as obvious in some parts of the country such as California, in others the evidence is all around. As Tennyson said, “In Spring a fuller crimson comes upon the robin’s breast; In the […]

• Posted in: Special Needs Planning

As an estate planning law firm we often have to take on the role of encouraging our clients to think and talk about difficult issues. Sometimes, however, we have the joy of sharing something truly heartwarming. This video about autistic high school basketball player Jason McElwain is one of those things. Many of our clients […]