No one can predict when a serious illness or injury will strike. A neighbor had a heart attack at 40 - she was fortunate to recognize the symptoms and get help. Another neighbor who just celebrated his 80th birthday is still recovering from a debilitating stroke. Look...
In the last couple of months, we have touched on a lot of topics pertaining to trusts. Today, we want to talk about one specific type of trust that can benefit many families: a special needs trust, or supplemental needs trust. If your child has a disability, planning...
In its simplest form, estate planning is all about your family. The plan is to draw up conclusive and definitive rules that dictate how all of the assets you have accumulated over your life will be passed on to your family members and loved ones. It's so simple! But,...
If you have a trust involved with your estate plan, it is likely that you have utilized a revocable trust. When you create a revocable trust when you are alive, it is called a "living trust." This type of trust is a tremendous tool that can help protect your estate...
Many people will eventually need a guardian as they get older. These people, called wards, are appointed (or appoint) a guardian to take care of them and make decisions for them. Though the titles involved here make it sound like some science fiction or fantasy movie,...
Probate is an integral process to estate administration. Simply put, probate is the process of which a person's property is distributed to the appropriate parties. Probate takes some time because the wishes of the deceased person are usually outlined in a will, and...
This post was inspired by a recent memorial service. The young father was a wild land firefighter - a dangerous profession. You might assume he died in a fire, but that was not the case. A fatal car crash took his life. He left behind a wife and young daughter. Life...
Estate planning isn't all about wills and trusts. There are two other critical pieces to the estate planning formula that every person should consider and incorporate in their plan: durable power of attorney and an advance health care directive.Durable power of...
Trusts are a staple of many estate plans, and they serve a very important function for a lot of people. It is very easy to be confused by a trust, even though it is a fairly straightforward legal premise. A trust is simple a property arrangement between three people....
Your spouse suffers a stroke or you fall while cleaning and fracture your wrist and pelvis - what happens next? Some amount of long-term care services will likely be required.Long-term care includes all the medical and non-medical services to cope with a chronic...
