Parents of adult children often take great joy in watching them pursue careers and develop their families. It is common for parents to continue providing practical support, financial assistance and life advice long after their children become independent. Many older adults feel proud of their adult children’s accomplishments. In some cases, parents may grieve the life they had dreamed of for their children because of the challenges they face. An adult child who struggles with alcohol abuse, misuse of prescription drugs or dependence on controlled substances may have a hard time maintaining hea ..read more

Estate planning is an important and relevant process for virtually all adults. Despite this, a significant number of adults in the U.S. have yet to even draft a will, let alone any other estate planning documentation. A will is a legal document that can outline your final wishes in terms of how your assets should be distributed after your passing. You can also utilize a will to name guardians who can look after your minor children should something happen to you. With the right guidance, it can be relatively straightforward to draft a will that is fit for these purposes. Without that guidance ..read more

If you are considering creating an estate plan for your pets, you are not alone. Many pet owners would want their pets to receive the best care after they are gone or no longer able to care for them due to illness. There are many reasons why you would want to curate an estate plan for your furry and feathered friends. These include the following. An estate plan helps ensure continued care When you curate an estate plan for your pets, you provide guidance on who will take responsibility for their care, ensuring that they are placed in a loving and capable environment. This includes specifying a ..read more

Choosing a guardian is one of the most significant decisions that parents of minor children must make when estate planning. This decision can help to ensure that children will be cared for by a trusted individual in the event of the parents’ untimely death or incapacitation. It cannot be emphasized enough that this is a consequential choice that requires careful consideration of various factors, as the well-being and security of the children at issue are at stake. Therefore, it’s understandable that many parents may feel overwhelmed when trying to settle on one individual over another. Conside ..read more

Once someone turns 18 years old, they are free to inherit directly. So parents of adult children can just earmark assets for their children in their will or any other way they wish. If, however, the parent dies before the child turns 18, they need another option. Minors (those under 18) cannot directly inherit because the law does not consider them responsible enough yet. Here are some alternatives: A special account  There are special accounts designed to hold money for a minor who inherits until they reach the age of majority. These accounts can be created under the Uniform Transfers to ..read more

You created your estate plan to ensure your family’s financial stability after you’re gone and to make certain that your final wishes are respected.  However, estate planning is never a “one-and-done” operation.  Life is full of surprises, and it’s a good idea to review your estate plan at the start of every new year just to see if your plans have kept up with any changes. Here are the things you need to check: Have any major life changes occurred? Various life events and milestones – from marriage or divorce to a birth or a death in a family – can all necessitate adjustments to an e ..read more

Technology continues to evolve and become an integral part of our lives. Therefore, it is increasingly apparent that a digital estate plan is essential to preparing for the unexpected. This will ensure that your online life and digital assets are taken care of after you are gone. What should be included in a digital estate plan? The first step is making an inventory of your digital assets. This may include: Social media accounts Email Online banking and investment accounts Cryptocurrencies Digital photos and videos Blogs and websites you own Cloud storage accounts Once you have listed all of y ..read more

When you create a will, you expect it to be implemented per your instructions when the time comes. However, it’s not always the case. Mistakes during the creation of a will can make it invalid or unenforceable and derail your estate planning objectives. Therefore, it helps to stay ahead of the situation by avoiding these common pitfalls when creating your will. It can save your loved ones a lot of trouble when you are gone and safeguard your plans for your estate’s future. Improperly executing the will A valid will must meet certain requirements to be legally enforceable in Minnesota. Failure ..read more

As people age, they often consider how they want their final days or years to proceed. For example, many contemplate whether to accept or refuse life-prolonging treatment in the case of incapacitation. At first, you may feel troubled by these thoughts, but it is a natural part of aging. The next logical step is to discuss your healthcare wishes with an estate planning representative. Working together, you can create advance medical directives like a living will to control your end-of-life care. What can you do with a living will? Under Minnesota’s living will laws, you can choose the type of t ..read more

How much time would you say that you spend each week either engaging with online resources or utilizing other electronic means of communication, like email? Have you ever given any thought as to what will happen to your online assets and accounts once you pass away? If not, you need to start the process of crafting a digital estate plan. More and more often, those who are left behind when a loved one dies are discovering that unraveling someone’s online “footprint” can be a nightmare if that person hasn’t left instructions concerning their assets and accounts, how to access them, what to do wi ..read more