Retirement accounts, life insurance and annuities are probably not controlled by provisions in your will. Why is this? These types of accounts and any other designated “payable on death” or “transfer on death” automatically pass to a named...
This Thanksgiving season spend a little time telling those around you how much you appreciate them – here is the guidance from Debi Barger, “Write a letter to someone and tell them how they have had a positive effect on your life.”Several weeks ago,...
This saying of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld aptly describes an inherent challenge in the estate planning process. Some of the events categorized into the ‘known unknowns’ bucket might be a heart attack, early onset Alzheimer’s or serious...
Recently, media outlets published that Francis Bean Cobain - the 25-year-old daughter of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain - receives about $100,000 a month from a trust funded by her father's publicity rights. Her father died without even a simple will. Intestacy laws dictated...
What is included in a loved one's estate? Often you have no idea unless listed as the personal representative in a will or appointed to wind down an estate by the probate court.Some property is not difficult to identify (i.e. the home that a parent owned, vehicles, a...
Usually, it is only required when there are serious disagreements, liability issues or litigation. In your will, making a wise decision about who to name as personal representative may avoid the issue altogether. It is truly one of the benefits of a will, you get to...
Opening a joint account with one child could result in unintended issues. It might even provide a larger inheritance to one child after you sought to provide roughly equal gifts to your children in your will.Your parents may be aging and looking for some help managing...
Almost as soon as a younger sibling arrives, so does rivalry for parent attention. As the children grow up, it is amazing to see how early these rivalries turn into “hitting” and “no, thank yous.” As children grow up together these behaviors...
When is the right to time do business continuity planning if you are a sole owner or have a family business you would like to eventually hand off to children? It’s right now. Here is a story that illustrates the importance of starting the process right away. A...
Approximately 44.2 million Americans are paying off student loan debt and it is hanging around longer than ever. Whether it will survive you will depend on the type of student loan. Did you cosign on student loans for a child or grandchild, return to earn another...
