Category Archives: Testamentary
How Do I Include Care for My Children in Estate Planning?
To make certain that parents’ wishes are followed, they should create a will that designates a guardian and a conservator in case both parents die, counsels The Choteau (MT) Acantha article entitled “Plan for children’s future when making out a will.” A guardianship provides for the care of the children, until they reach adulthood… Read More »
What You Need to Know about Trusts
Some people still think that trusts and estate planning are just for wealthy people. However, that’s simply not true. Many people are good candidates for trusts, used to protect their assets and their families. Trusts can also be used to avoid probate, says the article “Common misconceptions about trusts” from the Rome Sentinel. Who… Read More »
How Does a Spendthrift Trust Protect Heirs from Themselves?
This is not an unusual question for most estate planning lawyers—and in most cases, the children aren’t bad. They just lack self-control or have a history of making poor decisions. Fortunately, there are solutions, as described in a recent article titled “Estate Planning: What to do to protect trusts from a spendthrift” from NWI.com…. Read More »
What Is a Testamentary Trust and Do You Need One?
A couple doing some retirement planning has an updated will and a medical power of attorney in place, prepared with the help of an estate planning attorney. They own some rental property, a small business and life insurance, but their estate is not large enough for them to worry about the federal estate tax…. Read More »
What’s the Difference Between an Inter Vivos Trust and a Testamentary Trust?
Trusts can be part of your estate plan to transfer assets to your heirs. A trust created while an individual is still alive is an inter vivos trust, while one established upon the death of the individual is a testamentary trust and is generally included within a Last Will and Testament. Investopedia’s recent article… Read More »
Why We All Need to Have an Estate Plan
Putting off estate planning is never a good idea. Life happens, and before you know it, “someday” arrives. Having an estate plan is advisable for everyone, says the South Florida Reporter in the article “Why Estate Planning is so Important.” It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor—you need an estate plan. People… Read More »
Will Contests May Be Rare, but They Do Happen
In an ideal world, wills and estate plans are created when people are sound of mind and body, just as the familiar legal phrase describes. The best way to avoid a will contest is to have a well-written will, prepared by a qualified estate planning attorney who can help avoid legal contest. However, there… Read More »
When Should I Start My Estate Planning?
Only 42% of Americans have a will or other estate planning documents, according to a 2017 Caring.com study. Among parents of children under 18, only 36% have created a will. USA Today’s recent article, “Estate planning: 6 steps to ensure your family is financially ready for when you die, ” explains that if you… Read More »
There’s A Reason Why There are Laws about Wills and Estates
If this question sounds like something from a lawyer’s bar exam, that would be about right. It sounds like the first will should be in control, since his intentions were made clear in the first will, even if it was not executed correctly. This was explained by nwi.com in the article “Estate Planning: Will… Read More »
Do I Need a Living Trust or a Will? Or Both?
This is just one of the reasons people think they want a trust: to ensure that the value of their overall estate will not decrease, because of the cost of probate. The most common way to do that is with a trust, says The Houston Chronicle in the article “Elder Law: Which should I… Read More »