Boilerplate documents are everywhere on the internet. You can search for wills and find multiple documents and websites that can help you quickly enter your personal information on to a preexisting form. While this may seem like a fast and efficient solution, it may...
Estate Planning
Can estate planning save money?
One of the reasons that people often give for putting off their estate planning is that they don’t want to spend money to do it. They just want to save that money so that their children can have it. There are some issues with this strategy, though, including the fact...
Estate planning for blended families
Those of us who are a certain age remember the Brady Bunch television show. Mike and Carol got married and merged his three boys with her three girls into one big happy blended family. While the show highlighted the zany antics of everyone living together, what would...
The world’s largest wealth transfer is about to happen
There is an incredible amount of wealth in the world, and all of it has to eventually get passed from its current holders to future generations. While this is something that has always happened, it’s more important today because we’re approaching the largest transfer...
Why a move to a new state may invalidate your will
If you recently moved to Arizona, then you may assume the will that you drafted in your previous state is also valid here. That's not necessarily the case, though. There's a high probability that the same types of wills and their provisions aren't valid in both...
When and how does a trust end?
Creating and funding a trust can be a great way to plan your estate. Depending on your needs, a trust can serve a lot of different purposes. It can regulate how your beneficiaries use their inheritance. It can protect your estate from taxation or your assets from...
Don’t include these 3 items in your will
Everyone needs to have a will, but did you know that there are some things that you should not put into your will? You may think that a will is the perfect place for anything you want to distribute or talk about, but the truth is that there are some things that should...
Planning your estate and being transparent with your heirs
If you are in the process of creating an estate plan or have already created one and wish to update it, you should be proud that you are ahead of the curve. Most Americans don’t have an estate plan in place, and that can create serious problems when the unexpected...
What you should know if you’re selling a home as part of an estate’s administration
Being the executor or administrator of an estate involves a lot of different jobs. You have to locate the will or estate plan for the deceased person and file it with the probate courts. You will have to review their financial records, manage their financial affairs...
When should you update your estate plan?
Creating an estate plan can help your loved ones to know what you want to happen in your final days if you become incapacitated. It also sets up the distribution of your assets when you pass away. While many people think of estate planning as a one-and-done event,...