First off, please keep in mind that this article is summarizing and generalizing facts to make it easier to read. If you think any of this applies you should be talking to the appropriate professional to best help you (banker, CPA, attorney), and not directly rely on what I am saying for your specific situation. [...]
Many refer to the day their child is born as one of the best days of their lives. Friends and families will spend months preparing for a baby to arrive. The nursery is set up, the crib is put together, and even the closet is stocked with months worth of tiny little outfits. You have [...]
Not everything about estate planning is done for your heirs. Much of it, in fact, is put in place to protect you. One of those documents is called a “Power of Attorney for Health Care and Health Care Directive.” I’ll simply call it “Directive” from here on out. Most of us remember the Terri Schiavo [...]
A couple of years ago, I was contacted by someone who was interested in getting their estate plan completed. We sat down and started talking about his family, assets, liabilities, etc. After getting a good feel for his situation I recommended a pretty simple plan involving a Will and the necessary non-probate planning. He seemed [...]
Think back to being 18 years old. What were you interested in? Cars? Traveling? Freedom? Things you wouldn’t admit to your kids? Now think about what you would have done if someone had handed you a large sum of money when you were 18. We’d all like to tell ourselves we would have invested it, [...]
A couple of years ago, a client came into my office trying to figure out how to transfer the title of their deceased father’s house into that client’s name. The father didn’t have a Will or any resemblance of an estate plan, so I kept asking questions. It turned out the father had another son [...]
A young woman in her 40s called me one day completely distraught. She was married with two adorable little girls, but her husband was hit by a drunk driver and had been in a coma for quite some time. Her income alone was unable to support her family, and the bills were starting to pile [...]
I was helping out a client who was a beneficiary of a trust along with his brother and sister. The trust owned multiple pieces of rental property, but nothing else. The trust was set up by my client's grandfather, and my client's uncle was named as the trustee. The grandfather had already passed away and [...]
A client came to my office to handle their mom's probate estate, who did not leave a Will. During the course of the estate, it came to my attention that my client had a sister who had moved away and was adopted by her step-parent. The sister contacted me and I had to let the [...]
I have some friends who left their child with their parents while leaving town, and during the vacation, their child had a serious accident and had to be taken to the emergency room. However, without having been given the proper authority to make decisions on the child's behalf, there was a significant delay in getting [...]