What You Should Know about Life Insurance
Part of protecting your loved ones when you pass away is making sure that you have a proper estate plan in place. Another aspect is making sure that the right amount of money is available to carry out your goals for their futures. Life insurance has helped many people provide for their loved ones in […]
Helping Family Members in Need
So many people are struggling with a substance-abuse problem, living on the streets, or suffering from mental disability – or all three simultaneously. Many families want to assist family members struggling like that, but families are unsure how to offer that assistance, given that money might hurt more than help. Especially inheritances, which can come […]
Estate Planning for Vacation Homes
Many families enjoy going to their vacation homes. Sharing time and creating memories is the hallmark of such properties, and often there is a desire to preserve the home’s ownership within the family system for generations to come. Yet, even seemingly harmonious families can experience discord and exasperation when parents are no longer alive mediate […]
What Happens to a Dead Beneficiaries Inheritance
If your beneficiary is no longer, what happens to your inheritance? You may be wondering whether if you leave property to your brother Jim, but he dies before you, would his kids inherit the property in his place? The answer is, only if your will explicitly states as much. To ensure your document is correct, […]
Preserving Your Money and Property Beyond the Third Generation
Whether you have inherited your wealth or have built it yourself, you likely want to share this wealth with the next generation and beyond. The quotation “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” has often been attributed to Andrew Carnegie. The same concept has been echoed by other people and various cultures, with the underlying notion […]
Make Gifts That Your Family Will Love but the IRS Won’t Tax
Do not let constant political and financial speculation prevent you from making tax-free annual exclusion, medical-payment, and educational gifts to or for the benefit of your loved ones. Make Annual Exclusion Gifts Annual exclusion gifts are transfers of money or property in an amount or value that does not exceed the annual gift tax exclusion. […]
Fears When Talking about Money
Studies[1] have shown that the largest contributing factors to generational loss of wealth are a lack of communication and trust among family members and the failure to prepare heirs.[2] Often, fear is what underlies the lack of communication and trust that inevitably leads to unprepared heirs. Following are some of the fears that prevent people […]
Estate Planning Checklist to Facilitate Multigenerational Wealth Transfers
Studies estimate that 70 percent of family wealth is lost by the end of the second generation and 90 percent by the end of the third generation.[1] To help your loved ones avoid becoming part of this statistic, you need to educate and update your extended family about your wealth transfer goals and the plan […]
What is a Pet Trust?
It doesn’t matter what kind of pet you own, it is possible to provide for them after you are gone or no longer are capable of tending to their needs by creating a pet trust. A pet trust is a legal arrangement that will specify how to care for and take care financially of your […]
Benefits of Working With a Boutique Estate Planning Law Firm
No offense to the Texans out there, but bigger is not always better. In the legal world, that is particularly true when it comes to estate planning. While some practice areas benefit from working with major law firms (think corporate mergers and acquisitions), the impersonal trappings of BigLaw are not necessarily well-suited to the intimate […]