Divorce, remarriage, and blending families are treacherous enough waters to navigate, let alone wondering if all sides of your family will get along when you die. Those are all critical junctures to update your estate plan, whether it be a trust, a will, power of attorney, health care directive, or just beneficiary designations. If all aspects of your estate plan…
Estate planning is usually viewed as a sea of paperwork that, once completed, sits on a shelf to collect dust. You have peace of mind that it is complete and that your family will now be harmonious upon your death because they have a well-thought-out plan to follow when executing your last wishes. However, the big issues that tend to…
Margo stormed into her diner, slapped a newspaper down in front of her sister, Irene, and exclaimed, “Look at this! This could happen to us!” Irene glanced at the paper and her face scrunched up in confusion. “What on earth do we have in common with Tom Petty?” She peered up at her sister. “He died, you know.” Margo glared…
“And to Mary Kay Morgan, I bequeath my home and the sum of $250,000,” the lawyer intoned. Sara gazed at her sister, Mary, her eyes filled with questions. “Who the heck is Mary Morgan?” she whispered. Mary shrugged. “No idea. Maybe Uncle Hank had a girlfriend or something?” Sara’s eyes narrowed. “Sounds fishy to me. We all know Uncle Hank…
There are so many ways for parents to leave inheritances to their children as you can imagine. These are a few of the common approaches that parents seems to like, each of which can be tailored to a given family. IF YOUR CHILDREN ARE MATURE ADULTS: Outright Distribution If your children are adults, and you have no concerns for their…
