I talk with a lot of people who want to avoid probate, so they ask me about their options to avoid probate and want to know what is available. One of the options that comes up is a beneficiary’s deed. A beneficiary’s deed may also be called a “transfer on death deed,” but in Colorado the proper term is a beneficiary’s deed. Not all states allow for such deeds, but Colorado does. A lot of the people asking about avoiding probate don’t want their heirs to need to go through any legal process, but they also don’t want to go through the time and expense of setting up a trust to avoid probate. … [Read more...]
Get Your Estate Plan Done Before Your Taxes This Year
We just came out of the holiday season, which was quite busy. Whether you got invited to a lot of Christmas parties, were busy with holiday shopping, just had a million different events to go to with your children, or had big plans to celebrate the new year, the last two weeks of December are extremely busy for everyone. Now that we are in a new year, and the major end of the year holidays are behind us, it would seem that we would have more time available. Yet, there are still many distractions that get in the way of getting an estate plan done. There are always distractions from … [Read more...]
Four Fundamental Estate Planning Documents: Part 4 – The Living Will
When I talk with clients about estate planning, I often need to start with the basics, giving them a good solid foundation. I am not sure I have done that yet on my blogs, so I am excited to do a four part series where I talk about the basic, foundational documents of every estate plan. Hopefully this will set a good foundation for you. In my opinion, any estate plan should have these four basic, fundamental, foundational documents: A Will A Financial Power of Attorney A Medical Power of Attorney A Living Will (also called an Advance Directive) This blog will talk about a … [Read more...]
Four Fundamental Estate Planning Documents: Part 2 – The Financial Power of Attorney
The Financial Power of Attorney When I talk with clients about estate planning, I often need to start with the basics, giving them a good solid foundation. I am not sure I have done that yet on my blogs, so I am excited to do a four part series where I talk about the basic, foundational documents of every estate plan. Hopefully this will set a good foundation for you. In my humble opinion, any estate plan should have these four basic, fundamental, foundational documents: A Will A Financial Power of Attorney A Medical Power of Attorney A Living Will (also called an … [Read more...]
Four Fundamental Estate Planning Documents: Part 1 – The Will
When I talk with clients about estate planning, I often need to start with the basics, giving them a good solid foundation. I am not sure I have done that yet on my blogs, so I am excited to do a four part series where I talk about the basic, foundational documents of every estate plan. Hopefully this will set a good foundation for you. In my opinion, any estate plan should have these four basic, fundamental, foundational documents: A Will A Financial Power of Attorney A Medical Power of Attorney A Living Will (also called an Advanced Directive) This blog will talk about … [Read more...]