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Estate Planning

Debunking Estate Planning Misconceptions -- What does it mean to have no estate plan? What does it mean to have neither a will nor a trust? While you may have heard many "horror stories" and rumors, you may not truly understand the significance of not having formal estate-planning documents prepared.
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The Estate Plan of Anna Nicole Smith -- Anna Nicole Smith is a prime example of a fact: It's often later than you think. In her case, she probably did not realize that she would not live to the age of 40. She probably did not attach great importance to having an updated will or estate plan.
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Asset Protection: Joint Tenancy and Intentionally Defective Irrevocable Grantor Type Trust -- Ask any lawyer, accountant, life insurance agent, financial planner, mortgage brokers, stock brokers, or any lay person for his definition of asset protection and he will likely tell you that it’s the positioning of your assets against potential creditors who can sue you for typical negligence.
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What Your Family Needs to Know About Your Estate -- Mums the word!!! Don' t tell your heirs or family, but keeping secrets about your estate plan is probably the easiest way to ruin all of your careful planning.
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Revocable Trust (Revocable Living Trust) vs. Irrevocable Trusts -- Be open and notorious, Sue me! You’ll never get a dime. If you reposition (transfer) your assets through the use of an IRREVOCABLE TRUST, you will no longer own them. If you don’t own assets, no one will want to sue you; no one will want to track your spending habits; no one will call you to interrupt your dinner.
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How to Find the Best Estate Planning Attorney for Your Family -- The importance of proper estate planning need not be stressed. When you hear the word estate, it refers to everything you worked hard for. Your home, money in bank accounts, investments in stocks, mutual funds and bonds, cars, life insurance, business and others. Without proper estate planning, your beneficiaries will most likely be inconvenienced with all the requirements in settling your estate.
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Estate Planning and Trusts: Estate Tax Explained -- An ESTATE TAX is a tax on your possessions on the date of your death, up to 55%. Take inventory of what you own: Cash, Savings and checking accounts, CDs, Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Treasuries, Exempts, Jewelry, Cars, Stamps, Boats, Paintings, and other collectibles, Real Estate ... main home, vacation spot, investment realty, your Business, Interests in other businesses, Limited Partnerships, Partnerships, Mortgages and notes receivable you hold, Retirement plan benefits, IRAs, Amounts that you expect to inherit from others.
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Medicaid and the Living Trust -- You've probably gotten a postcard or seen an ad for a seminar on "Living Trusts" and all the benefits they supposedly offer you. Basically, a Living Trust is a trust you create and fund during your life and which you retain the ability to change and revoke at any time. They have their place and can be quite useful, in the right circumstances, but the question of today is whether they are useful if you may be applying for Medicaid.
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The Inheritor's Trust -- Many times Baby Boomer client has parents who have a fair amount of money, as does the Boomer client. If the parents simply leave their money to the child as an outright gift under the parents' wills or living trusts, that money will be includible in the taxable estate of the child and also be subject to creditors, divorcing spouses, etc.
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I Don't Have a Will: Do I Really Need One? -- A common question estate planning and elder law attorneys often get asked is "Do I really need a will?" Most people would assume that an estate planning attorney would always answer "Yes, of course," but such is not the case. Many people simply have no need for a will. But let's take a look at why you may indeed want to have a will.
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