As you grow older, you may find yourself needing to revisit your estate plan. The plans you first created in your 20s or 30s may no longer effectively protect you or the people you love. Your family circumstances may change, and you may acquire or get rid of certain...
3 reasons to put an adult child’s inheritance in a trust
When your children are still young, you can protect them by putting their inheritance in a trust. There will be resources available if their guardian struggles to provide for them, but there will also be rules that prevent the guardian from abusing and using up their...
Why do estate disputes happen?
When you ask many people why they want to do estate planning, eliminating the potential for disputes is at the top of the list. They simply say that they want to make sure they know what's going to happen to their assets so that their children don't fight over them....
Kid going off to college? Why you need a health care directive
Getting notice that a college approved your child's admissions application is an incredible experience. The whole family likely wants to celebrate their achievements. After you celebrate, you will have to start thinking about the practical implications of their higher...
Can a trust pay out when you’re still alive?
When you’re planning a way to pass on inheritances or protect your assets, one of the options you may select is to create a trust or multiple trusts to do so. It is necessary to understand the basics of how a trust works to make sure you set it up to be as protective...
Why every college student and young worker needs an estate plan
College and early stages of career development aren't typically when people think about the end of their lives. After all, everything for them is just beginning. However, even a freshman in college and someone with their first real job needs an estate plan. Contrary...
Why should you create a special needs trust?
When you are working on your estate plan, one thing you may want to create is a supplemental needs trust. A supplemental needs trust is a legal document that creates a trust fund for one of your beneficiaries, who has a chronic illness or disability that requires...
Now is the time to update and review your estate plan
As the year draws to a close, you may have many concerns on your mind. For example, you may find yourself thinking about your family relationships as you plan for the holidays, or you may think about your previous vacations as you plan for your annual winter trip. If...
How do you pick the right guardian for your children?
Becoming a parent changes people. Their child quickly becomes the most important consideration in every decision, ranging from where the family lives to how they spend the holidays. As a new parent, your life has probably changed a lot in the last few years. You will,...
Getting remarried? Revisit your estate plan
You went through a divorce, and you didn’t think you’d remarry again. You left most of your estate plan alone, because in your mind, you would never want to give those assets to anyone other than the spouse who left you. At the time, you felt it was fair to leave them...