The average approach to estate planning focuses on the basics. People worry about their dependents and naming a guardian and ensuring the right people inherit their property. Those are excellent bare minimum essentials to address in an estate plan, but there are other...
Your estate plan can provide directions for your care in a medical emergency in addition to providing an inheritance for your dependent family members. Estate plans can include numerous advance directives that protect you before you die in addition to testamentary...
When people set up a trust, they generally pick a focus for that trust. For instance, maybe you believe that your grandchildren should be able to go to college without taking out an incredible amount of student loans. You want to create an educational trust so that...
Your estate plan helps guide the probate process after you die. It can also protect you while you are still alive. Certain documents can help in the event of an unforeseen medical catastrophe. Maybe you suffer a cardiac event that leaves you in a coma, or maybe you...
Estate planning can involve many different steps depending on a person's needs and family circumstances. Those with big families, specific plans for their personal legacies or highly valuable assets often have to engage in more than just basic estate planning. They...
“I’ll take care of that later.” We’ve all heard or declared that intention in some context, right? Maybe it relates to assembling all relevant documents for the annual tax-filing season. Perhaps it’s a repeated vow to get to promised chores at home. Or it could be a...
An executor is a critical component of a will and estate plan. This person – typically willing, trustworthy and financially savvy – has a great responsibility in a thankless job distributing the estate’s assets, working with attorneys and heirs, resolving disputes and...
Estate planning should be a practical exercise for taking the assets you have, protecting them while you are alive and distributing them to the people and organizations you want to support after you die. However, a recent Caring.com survey shows only four out of every...
Many people take the time to carefully plan countless events in their lives. They will obsess over a road-trip itinerary, create numerous lists leading up to throwing a birthday party or develop extensive plans for what items to purchase at what stores during...
Estate planning is not something everyone wants to think about, especially when it comes to dealing with difficult subjects like catastrophic injuries or death. When most people think about estate planning, they only consider wills and trusts, but creating a living...
