Even those estates that are not very complicated can be protected using four best practices in the asset protection planning process. Complex estates require multiple layers of protection in order to guard against common pitfalls that could significantly decrease the value of your estate. A New York attorney was arrested in February due to charges… Read More »
Blog Posts Page 4
What You Need to Know About Setting Up Estate Plans with Scholarships
Are you thinking about establishing a scholarship that will be given to someone after you pass away? This could be an excellent philanthropic venture to include in your estate plan but you need the support of an experienced estate planning attorney to understand how to incorporate this appropriately and how to ensure that your individual… Read More »
Family Finances Can Be Devastated by The Sudden Loss of a Loved One
The sudden death of a family member can have a significant impact on finances for everyone. Sudden deaths like those of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade illustrate why it’s so important to have done some work in advance with regard to financial planning. Attorneys, financial advisors and therapists all have chimed in in recent articles… Read More »
Stan Lee’s Planning Disaster Holds Important Lessons for All People
There are many different lessons we can learn about estate planning from the mistakes of celebrities today, and as more people live into their nineties and their one hundreds, it will become increasingly important to think about issues that are arise during the course of your life and not just your death. The elder abuse… Read More »
A New Study Shows Women Are Taking More Charge in Financial Affairs
A new study indicates that in terms of wealth management, women are taking an advanced position on financial planning. The study completed by RBC Wealth Management indicated that there has been a significant change in the attitude of women between millennial and the baby boomer generations. In fact, approximately half of boomer women take the… Read More »
The Inheritance Wave Is Coming
Whether your estate is small or large, thinking about passing it on to future generations means you must consider your own legacy and how you’d like to be remembered. Furthermore, the gifts you make to your family members can have a lasting impact on their life. Research shows that massive wealth transfers are coming down… Read More »
Understand the Overall Importance of Long Term Care
Whenever estate planning and elder law attorneys try to broach the topic of long term care with clients, there’s usually a wall of denial that is struck. This makes it even more important to understand the possibility of the need for long term care and how to approach this with an open mind. Without appropriate… Read More »
Don’t Ignore the Value of Business Succession Planning
Businesses across the United States don’t even know about the prospective dangers of a silent killer for their company. Up to 90% of businesses in the United States are owned by family members; however, fewer than one third of these companies will survive into the second generation. The statistics are even more grim for survival… Read More »
Review Your Will and Prenup Or Postnup Agreement
All legal documentation should be carefully evaluated after you file for divorce and preferably before if you have the opportunity. Two key legal documents that most people have executed and might forget about in the wake of the divorce are the will and any pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement. If your state allows you to execute… Read More »
Update Your Power of Attorney Following a Divorce
After getting a divorce, there are immediate estate planning issues that have to be addressed and overlooking even one of these could set you up for potential failure if a now estranged spouse is making decisions on your behalf. In the first part of this three-part blog series to discuss the benefits of updating your… Read More »
Part 1: The Getting Divorced Estate Planning Series
You will need insight from an experienced estate planning lawyer if you intend to get divorced because there are many different issues that have to be addressed at the outset of this process. Failing to include these in your process could expose you to problems down the road, such as having beneficiary designation forms that… Read More »
Don’t Forget to Update Your Beneficiary Designations After You Switch Jobs
Have you recently switched jobs or had another major change in your life? Beneficiary designations on these forms are extremely important for how the courts will interpret who is eligible to take over these accounts and reap the rewards after you have passed away. Outlining in your will that you intend for someone to receive… Read More »
Getting Separated from Your Spouse Should Prompt New Estate Planning Conversations
Have you recently gotten separated from a spouse and failed to update your legal documents and plans? This could be big mistake if you were to become suddenly disabled or to pass away. If you have your spouse legally listed on all of these forms, it’s important to realize that separation in and of itself… Read More »
Don’t Forget to Include Asset Protection Planning
Conventional estate planning is only half of the equation and if you leave yourself exposed to the possibility that someone could launch a lawsuit against you, you could be financially ruined with just one of these unfortunate intrusions into your existing estate planning. Comprehensive estate planning must include traditional estate planning tools to maximize the… Read More »
What Happens If Medicare Doesn’t Pay for My Long-Term Care?
Many clients who schedule a consultation to discuss elder care planning and long-term care are confused about Medicaid and Medicare. While both of these programs were created by federal laws, they function quite differently and may not give you all of the protection that you expect should you need long term services in the future…. Read More »
Protect Your Retirement Accounts by Rolling Them Over the Right Way
Have you recently updated your beneficiary designations to reflect the fact that you’ve gotten a new job, or perhaps you have changed your retirement accounts to begin with? You have many different options when you leave one employer and go to another one. Rolling over 401(k) funds into your new employer’s plan may not always… Read More »
Protect Your Business Trade Name for Maximum Ease in Business Succession Planning
Business succession planning should begin at the time that you launch a new venture. Although there are so many different details to address when you start a new company, protecting your business name by consulting with an intellectual property attorney is equally as important as looking ahead to your own retirement and developing a business… Read More »
Financial Matters to Remember in Your Second Marriage
Whether you are getting married after the death of a spouse or remarrying after a divorce, smart financial planning should always be included in your overall process. A second marriage brings many different questions and considerations to the table, and having the experience of a knowledgeable financial advisor and estate planning attorney is strongly recommended…. Read More »
How to Incorporate a Financial Advisor into Your Estate Plan
Various professionals can assist you with the development of a proper estate plan but far too many people make mistakes when selecting or working with a financial advisor, that could compromise the results they achieve. The two biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to hiring and working with a financial advisor have to… Read More »
What Laws Apply When You Inherit Property from Another Country?
It might initially seem like a scam when you receive a notification from an estate planner in another country or for someone managing the probate of a loved one’s estate, that you have received a real estate located in a foreign land. This might initially seem exciting but the truth of the matter is that… Read More »