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When creating your will, you may be tempted to include provisions designating who should receive certain items of tangible personal property (things like furniture, jewelry, and collectibles). If you include these specific provisions in your Will and later change your...
This guide debunks common misconceptions which can lead to trouble for your loved ones down the road. 1. "I'm not wealthy enough to need an estate plan." There is no amount of money that signifies one should have a basic estate plan, rather it is something every...
Planning for death can be both physically and emotionally challenging so its understandable that mistakes are made. Luckily, any mistakes can be fixed so long as you are alive. This guide explains some of the most prominent mistakes which are commonly made in Estate...
Ah, the vacation home: a place of relaxation, where your family can enjoy time together and build memories. Inevitably, some of your children will love the vacation home and others will have no interest in using it. How do you balance these interests in planning...
The IRS has finally released information on federal estate and gift tax exemptions for 2017. Individuals will have a federal estate tax exemption of $5.49 million (less lifetime taxable gifts) beginning in 2017. The federal estate tax exemption applies both to...
When an individual dies with a very modest estate, there is a simplified procedure that permits that deceased person's personal representative, family or heirs to collect his or her assets without the complexity, time and expense of a formal probate proceeding. In...
If you are a creditor of a decedent who has died, you will need to know how to file a claim against the decedent’s estate in order to protect yourself and preserve the amount due to you. Below you will find general guidance about the process for filing a claim in a...
Frequently clients inquire about the best ways to either make gifts to grandchildren during their lifetime or leave a small gift to their grandchildren at their death. One way to accomplish that gift is to leave money to a 529 Account, named for the Internal Revenue...
I am asked this important question several times each week. There is no right answer to the question. Consider the following guidelines to determine when and how often your estate plan should be reviewed. At a minimum, I recommend you review the basic terms of your...
No. The short answer is that you do not have to tell your family (or your friends, your priest, your best friend or anyone else) what provisions you made in your estate planning documents. Your estate planning documents are private, and you can decide to keep them...