Estate Planning Archives - Michael Bailey Law, LLC

Why You Shouldn’t Delay Updating Your Will and Estate Plan After Divorce

I recently read a post on a social media platform concerning a woman who had been divorced for 15 years, but had a will that left $750,000 to her ex-spouse. The woman had not updated her will after the divorce, so when she passed away, the will gave that amount to her ex-husband, leaving her child with nothing. I don’t think this was … [Read more...]

What Factors Affect The Cost of Your Estate Plan?

I think the question that I am asked most often in my estate planning practice is how much does it cost to do a will? Or a trust? Or an estate plan? Or a Power of Attorney? Or a Living Will? Or any other number of estate planning documents or preparation. The questions assume that all estate planning is the same, or … [Read more...]

What is a Quitclaim Deed? And Why Does it Matter for Estate Planning?

Deeds are pretty nifty things. And, there are a lot of different types of deeds. A deed is a document that shows ownership of real property or real estate and a deed is the documents a person can use to transfer ownership of real property or real estate from one person to another person or from one entity like a business or trust to a … [Read more...]

Tenancy in Common vs Joint Tenancy – What’s the Difference and Why Does it Matter for Estate Planning?

Tenancy in Common and Joint Tenancy are different ways of holding real estate property between more than one individual. In my experience, multiple people owning a real estate property together is most common among married couples who have purchased a house together, but that is not always the case. I have seen siblings who own property … [Read more...]

How to Start a Family Conversation About Estate Planning

Most families that I know don’t really want to have a conversation about estate planning, or death, or dying, or any of those unpleasant subjects. And, most families that I know don’t want to have a conversation about family finances and the family financial situation. I have found this to be especially true of older parents or grandparents. My … [Read more...]

How to Move Into A Care Facility Without Losing Your Mind or Your Money

My oldest daughter just became licensed as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) this summer, as she needed to find a way to get work experience in the medical field, and she wants to become a doctor. She found her first job working as a CNA doing overnight shifts at a memory care facility. She mostly keeps track of the people and guides them back … [Read more...]

Making Your Estate Plan and Life Insurance Work Together

Almost every time I meet with someone to discuss their estate plan, I get questions about what happens with different types of assets, and almost always people want to know what controls who gets an asset. This leads to a discussion of how things can be transferred: via joint ownership, beneficiary designation, the dictates of a will, or the … [Read more...]

Working With Your Estate Planning Attorney to Get What You Want

I was on a Zoom meeting recently with another attorney, and that attorney mentioned that she likes to write blog posts because it gives her more of a chance to do legal writing. I listened to what she meant by that and she talked about how a blog post gives her a chance to write something to explain one aspect of the law, or another, and that she … [Read more...]

Estate Planning For Single Women – What Does One Need?

What does a single woman need in terms of an estate plan? The short answer is the same as everyone else, a will or trust, financial and medical powers of attorney, and a living will. These documents are the foundations of any estate plan, but they can, and should be tailored to any person’s unique situation. Certainly single women have different … [Read more...]

Financial Powers of Attorney (POA) and a Living Trust Compared Side by Side

Let’s get started by saying that I do know a financial power of attorney and a living trust are different documents that have different functions and different goals. A living trust is most often a document that describes what happens to your assets after your death, whereas a financial power of attorney (financial POA) allows someone to make … [Read more...]