Estate Planning Considerations for Couples with an Age Gap
With couples of similar ages, planning for the future is naturally a joint effort. However, if you are married to someone who is significantly older or younger than you, the future can look different and mean different things to each of you. To protect yourself, your spouse, and other loved ones, you need to have […]
Why a Joint Pour-Over Trust May be Right for You
Yours, Mine, and Ours: How Including a Pour-Over Trust Can Simplify Your Planning A number of married couples think about their accounts and property as “yours, mine, and ours,” especially if either or both spouses have gotten or will be getting remarried, married late in life, or have brought or will be bringing significant […]
Estate Planning: A New Year’s Resolution for Your Family
Estate Planning: A New Year’s Resolution for Your Family In January, callers to our office echo a common refrain: establishing or updating their est ate plan is a New Year’s Resolution. Being newlyweds, Tyler and I can relate. On your seemingly endless to-do list, estate planning may feel more like a “have to” than a […]
Bankruptcy’s Effects on Estate Planning
Bankruptcy’s Effects on Estate Planning Bankruptcy may be one of the last things on your mind when you are creating an estate plan. Fortunately, the number of bankruptcy filings has declined over the past several years, but there were still a whopping 544,463 bankruptcy filings in 2020.[1] What happens to your estate if you file […]
Caregiving in a Crisis
A caregiver tending to a loved one, a care partner, during a crisis is challenging, and the continuing COVID-19 pandemic deems that being prepared is more important than ever before. Caregivers must balance the need for their care partner’s health and balance it with that person’s safety. As the US heads into seasonally extreme weather […]
America Needs Geriatric Care Managers
Because aging is a highly complex, individualized process, the title of a professional geriatric care manager can be misleading. Depending on one’s healthcare needs, a geriatric care manager (GCM) may be appropriate at age 65 or 105 and any age in between. A geriatric care manager is a highly-skilled advocate for older adults and is […]
Plan Before It’s Too Late
Doesn’t that sound like something your mother would say? And how often have you wished that you’d followed mother’s good advice? Nobody really wants to think in advance about accidents or illness. But if no advance planning has been done, and if an elderly parent has broken a hip, say, and is about to be […]
Why Unmarried Partners Should Care about Estate Planning
According to a 2019 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 7 percent of surveyed adults were living with an unmarried partner, up from 3 percent in 1995.[1] More people such as yourself are entering long-term committed relationships without getting married. Unfortunately, many state and federal laws do not protect unmarried couples as they do […]
The Estate Planning Tool Kit for Unmarried Partners
Unless you plan properly, your partner will not receive any of your money or property when you pass away and will be unable to care for you when you most need it. Instead of your partner, your family members will be in charge of your financial and medical decisions and will receive your money and […]
Poor Financial Choices Could Indicate the Onset of Dementia
Dementia can cause a diminishing brain function, which can lead to the destruction of your financial well-being. If you are age 50 or older, easy access to your financial assets like stocks and bonds, checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, and other assets can lead to loss of these funds if an unauthorized person […]