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Almost every client I meet says to me, “well we’re very simple. We just want something simple and want something that should be easy.” I think that what most people mean when they say “we’re simple” is they don’t have much. They’re referring to the things they own – their assets. Something like, “We just […]
“But I Don’t Want To!” Why You Need to Talk to Your Kids About Your Estate Plan
In my last blog post, I wrote about why kids, usually adult children, need to talk to their parents about the parents’ estate plan. In this post, I want to talk about how parents need to talk to their children about their estate plan. Mostly, both sides need to have the discussion about an estate […]
Estate Planning for the Blended Family: Planning to Keep a New Spouse and All the Kids Happy
The 1970’s TV show “The Brady Bunch” depicts a blended family – a family where the spouses have remarried and kids are not all from just the married couple. The theme song goes like this: “Here’s the story of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair […]
Pet Trusts in Estate Planning: Caring for Your Furry Friends When You Are Gone
Anyone who has a pet knows the love and joy they bring into your life. I have pet dogs, and I love them. Other people have cats, horses, birds, or any other number of animals that they love. My dogs are always happy to see me when I come home, and make sure to greet […]
Everything You Need To Know About Setting Up An Educational Trust For Your Grandchildren
My children went back to school in August, and are still adjusting almost a month later. My kids are more tired, and so they need to go to bed earlier. They are also not sure they really love being in school. The freedom of summer is gone, replaced by homework assignments, new classrooms, and all […]
Why Emergency Estate Planning is a Bad Idea
Among the reasons that I chose estate planning as a practice area is that there are fewer emergencies, so I can have more predictable work hours, and have less intrusions on the time that I spend with my family away from work. I like to see my family from time to time, like on the […]
Asset Protection: The Difference Between Irrevocable Trusts and Revocable Trusts
A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with a financial planner who has referred business to me for several years. This financial planner told me we need to provide asset protections in a trust for a potential client he planned to refer to me, and referenced using a revocable trust. We have these […]
The 3 Roles in a Trust, and Why They’re Important to Understand Before Sitting Down With Your Estate Planning Attorney
A couple of weeks ago I was discussing a trust with a client, and thought I had explained what a trustmaker, trustee, and trust beneficiary were. While I was talking about how only one of their kids would act as the Trustee, the client reacted with haste, exclaiming, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALL OF MY […]
What Will You Be? Picking the Right Halloween Costume For Your Estate
It is October, and Halloween is coming up. A couple of years ago my four year old asked what a friend of ours would be for Halloween by asking, “What will Erazz be for Halloween? A witch!” He mispronounced our friend Mirazz’s name, and made us laugh, but picking a costume is always a fun […]
Making Beneficiary Designations Work for You
You spend hours setting up the perfect estate plan, and you are set up exactly the way you want. Everything seems perfect, and then it comes time to implement the plan. But wait, what is this? Your assets are transferring outside of the perfect plan? How can that be? What is going on? What happened? […]
