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This is a question mostly related to estate planning for couples. When couples plan their estate, the question of what happens after a first spouse dies becomes quite important. For most couples, the surviving spouse wants to be able to change the terms of an estate plan. Often, that may be related to preserving assets, or transferring assets to … [Read more...]
How To Protect Your Assets in a Trust if your Kid’s Have Debt
In my last blog post, I talked about how a living trust does not protect assets from creditors in Colorado. If you want to protect your own assets, you need to use an irrevocable trust. However, if you want to protect assets for your children, you can provide that type of asset protection in your revocable trust. Your revocable trust can be … [Read more...]
Does a Living Trust Protect Assets from a Nursing Home in Colorado?
The simple answer to the question above is no. A living trust accomplishes a lot of things, but protecting assets from long term medical care costs, or costs associated with a nursing home is not one of the things that a living trust can do. A living trust helps avoid the probate process, streamlines the process after you have passed away, and … [Read more...]
Can i Have An Estate Plan from Out of State?
When I got married, I went to open a joint checking account with my wife. As part of the process, the banker asked for my driver’s license. I handed over the license and the banker asked me if the address was current. I laughed and said, “Nope, that was about 7 addresses ago.” I was in law school at the time, and I had moved just about every … [Read more...]
The Benefits of Living Trusts: How They Can Save You Time and Save You Money
I take a lot of calls concerning trusts where people ask me how a trust can save them money. Many of these callers have the mistaken belief that trusts are a magical way to avoid paying taxes and that they can completely eliminate taxes by using a trust. As much as I would like for that to be the case, it simply is not. Taxes do not simply go … [Read more...]
Avoiding Common Estate Planning Mistakes for People of Moderate Wealth
Most people I know are not rich, but they are not poor, either. Instead, they are somewhere in the middle - not rich, not poor, but decently comfortable - which is probably a result of having such a large middle class in America. I count myself as part of the middle class, and chances are that you are, too. As such, we don’t have the same … [Read more...]
Why Every Homeowner Needs and Estate Plan: Tips for Protecting Your Property
Most people that I know are fairly normal, regular people. They aren’t rich, and they aren’t poor, but they are somewhere in the middle. They own a house, have a few kids, and generally just go to work, pay their bills, and take a vacation every now and then. I am one of these people, and so I understand how this type of life works on a regular … [Read more...]
Planning for Life’s Milestones: A Look at Changing Estate Planning Through Pictures
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Change is the only constant in life.” Although this saying is often attributed to better known philosophers like Plato or Aristotle, Heraclitus gets credit for giving us this slightly oxymoronic truth. I think we all see how this plays out in our own life's. We are children, grow up, become adults, and … [Read more...]
Coloradans: You Deserve To Have Your Estate Planning Questions Answered
In November of 2022, we spent Thanksgiving in Kansas City with friends. We drove out the Saturday prior to the week of Thanksgiving and planned to spend the entire week with our friends. Neither I, nor my wife, planned to work during the week of Thanksgiving. However, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, my wife’s second level supervisor called her … [Read more...]
How Do I Leave My Car, Boat, House, Money, Family Cabin, Family Business, Family Farm, Monkey, Cat, Dog, or Anything Else To My Family After I Die?
I get asked the question above a lot! OK, so not the whole question at once...mostly I am asked about one part, or the other, and not all of the items at the same time, but I do get asked about how to deal with specific assets quite a bit. I am not sure if people think that each different thing they own needs to be treated separately, or if … [Read more...]
