Wills and living trusts are two of the most fundamental estate planning documents. While both accomplish the same primary objective in an estate plan of directing the distributions of your money and property to your desired beneficiaries after you pass away, a revocable living trust, often referred to simply as a living trust or an inter vivos trust, provides added flexibility and functionality, including incapacity planning. Like other types of trusts, there are three roles under a revocable living trust: The person who creates the trust, called the trustmaker The person who manages the trus ..read more

Today more young adults are living at home with their parents than at any time since the 1940s. While there are many different opinions about this trend and the cause of its recent prevalence, the primary motivation for young adults staying at home with their parents is usually related to finances. Most adult children who still live at home have future plans to move out at some point. However, if one or both of their parents pass away prior to that time without addressing the adult child’s living situation in their estate plan, it can present legal issues. An estate plan should be updated ever ..read more

Comprehensive estate planning involves more than just planning for your legacy after your death, avoiding probate, and reducing taxes. Good estate planning also appoints people to make legal, financial, and medical decisions for you if you are alive but unable to make those decisions for yourself (in other words, if you are incapacitated). What happens without a plan for incapacity? Without a comprehensive plan for your incapacity, your family will have to go to court to have a judge appoint a guardian and conservator to make healthcare decisions for you and manage your money and property. A g ..read more

Many people believe that estate planning is only about planning for their death. But planning for what happens after you die is only one piece of the estate-planning puzzle. It is just as important to plan for what happens if you become unable to manage your own financial or medical affairs while you are alive (in other words, if you become incapacitated). What happens without an incapacity plan?  Without a comprehensive incapacity plan, if you become incapacitated and unable to manage your own affairs, a judge will need to appoint someone to take control of your money and property (known ..read more

As a parent, you are responsible for the care of your minor child. In most circumstances, this means getting them up for school, making sure they are fed, and providing for other basic needs. However, what would happen if you and your child’s other parent were unable to care for them? It is important to note that if something were to happen to you, your child’s other parent is most likely going to have full authority and custody of your child, unless there is some other reason why they would not have this authority. So in most cases, estate planning is going to help develop a plan for protecti ..read more

When creating a Last Will and Testament (commonly known as a Will), one of your most important considerations is who to choose to serve as the executor (also called a personal representative) of your estate. As the name implies, the role of the executor is to execute the instructions that you provide in your Will. You may give your chosen executor some discretionary powers in determining how your assets (money and property) are to be distributed, but they have limited latitude to make independent decisions. Any deviation from their specified powers could cause a conflict in your estate that le ..read more

When people think about creating an estate plan, they may think it just involves getting a set of forms that convey their wishes regarding their finances, health, and what will happen to their stuff when they die. Although the documents that comprise an estate plan may seem like simple forms, these important estate planning tools are the legally binding way for clients to manage their affairs during their incapacity (when they cannot manage their own affairs) or their death. Relying on nonlawyers to help with estate planning forms or provide legal advice can pose significant risks. Many profes ..read more

Sitting down to create or update your estate plan can be overwhelming. Crucial to a successful plan is your ability to address two major questions: Who will get your stuff when you die, and how do you want those individuals or charities to receive that stuff? Ways to Give Away Your Money and Property  Outright One way you can give away your money and property at your death is to give it outright. In other words, once you have passed away and the administration process has been completed, your beneficiary will receive their inheritance (e.g., a bank or investment account, real property, et ..read more

Estate planning attorneys and probate and trust administration attorneys play crucial but distinct roles in the legal processes involving legacy planning, asset distribution, and wealth preservation. Estate planning attorneys focus on creating a plan to manage a person’s money, property, and affairs upon their death or if they are unable to manage it themselves. Probate and trust administration attorneys, on the other hand, deal with settling an estate or trust after the person has passed away. While there can be some overlap between these roles, not every attorney handles both. As part of the ..read more

Creating or revising an estate plan can feel overwhelming, causing many people to procrastinate. But the longer you put it off, the more potential there is to be caught unprepared in an emergency. So how can you motivate yourself and your loved ones to begin the process? Here are some strategies to help you overcome some of the negative feelings associated with this process and meet the challenge head on. Reward Yourself for Your Accomplishments While the benefits associated with updating or creating a new estate plan are a reward in and of themselves, we can all use an extra push. Sometimes t ..read more