Many people think that estate planning is simple: You just press a button on a word processor and out comes a Will or other document that does just what you want. However, it’s just not that simple. There are many reasons that it takes someone with years of education and practical experience to advise you and prepare documents to accomplish your wishes. Typically, you have not even thought of all the questions, much less the answers and why they are important. For … [Read more...]
What Happens in My Initial Estate Planning Consultation?
Your initial consultation with an estate planning attorney should be similar to your initial consultation with your physician. First, you will be asked to provide information about yourself and your family. Are you married? Do you have any children? Did you have previous marriages? Do you have any grandchildren? What are the ages of you and your family? You will be asked about your assets and their nature and extent. You will be asked about your goals. Who will take … [Read more...]
How to Leave a Mess to Your Heirs
As we go through life, few of us plan to leave a mess to our heirs after we are gone. However, many of us, in fact, do leave behind a tangled mess, indeed. Here are a few typical messes and how to avoid them: Lifetime Transactions Without Legal Advice Problem: Often, people enter into lifetime transactions which they think will simplify things after their death. However, all too often, these complicate matters more than anyone could have imagined. For example, … [Read more...]
A Plan by Design or by Telephone?
There is a game that most of us have played before, whether around the campfire or in some other setting: “Telephone.” In this game, you tell a story to the first person who repeats it to the next, and so on, until the story makes it around the circle. It’s fascinating how the story changes even when people are trying faithfully to keep to the original facts. The more complex the story, the more the story mutates. People often plan carefully to pass on their financial wealth. They make sure … [Read more...]
Planning to Benefit Non-Traditional Beneficiaries
Some people have “traditional” beneficiaries. In other words, the people whom they love and whom they choose to benefit in their estate plan are their spouse and children. However, sometimes, the most important people in someone’s life are non-traditional beneficiaries, like unmarried domestic partners, same-sex married couples, nephews and nieces, or friends. The strategies that work for one may not work for the other, and vice versa. For example, the unlimited marital deduction, a … [Read more...]
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