You are young, or you don’t have many assets and that means you don’t need an estate plan. Wrong! It is true that if people do not own any real estate and do not have any other property of high value, it will not be too difficult for their families to handle their estates. However, […]

Sometimes little thought is given in the choice of executor. That can create problems. The person in charge of your estate is the executor. Instead of thinking about whether the person they are choosing is the right person, many people just pick a close friend or relative. This can be a very big mistake, especially […]

Planned giving is one way to leave a good legacy. Assets are often the first thought about estate planning. However, that does not mean your other values have to be left out of your estate plan completely. You can use your estate plan for planned charitable giving, according to the Nashua Telegraph in “Planning to […]

There are good ways and bad ways to give to charities. It often depends on the charity. People often decide to leave some or all of their assets to charity. However, the best way to find out how to give to any specific charity is to talk to that charity, according to Mountain Xpress in […]

If you don’t have an estate plan but do have minor children, it can become complicated. Most parents would choose to have their estate pass to their children, if they do not have a formal estate plan. However, if those children are minor, some challenges can arise, according to My San Antonio in “Minor intestate […]

Joint ownership means you don’t have to go through probate. However, the risks are high—very high. A parent will sometimes decide to add a child to the deed to their home and that means an equal share. It also means that if the child has creditors, they can seek to make claims against the home. However, that […]

Some parents want to give everything to their children right now … but wait! Unless you have an estate plan, before your children can inherit the estate it must to go through the probate process. That can be both expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, many parents decide to give their children everything now. However, it might […]

If your spouse has assets, it is likely that Medicaid will take them into consideration. Medicaid is likely to ignore any spousal agreements and consider the assets of each spouse when determining eligibility, according to My San Antonio in “Protecting separate assets from Medicaid.” Sometimes a couple will jointly decide to just spend down the […]

Digital assets need to be protected now. However, they also need to be made available later. Protecting your digital assets before you pass away and making them available later can create some conflicts. There are three basic complications when it comes to planning for someone else to access your digital accounts after you pass away, […]

It may be wise to set up some review time for your estate plan, as life goes on. There are actually a few common things that can happen in your life that have an impact on your estate plan and they can be listed, according to the Huntsville Item in “When should you review your […]