Tag: Estate Planning

“Imagine you get married and within a year or two, your new spouse passes away. Now, imagine that your grief is compounded with financial stress.” Without an updated estate plan, a surviving spouse is left with a world of trouble, as described in the article “Protect Your Spouse and Children by Updating Your Estate Plan” […]

“Financial advisors and estate attorneys say they are seeing a flurry of inquiries from people seeking to update or draft wills and take other estate-planning measures amid the coronavirus crisis.” With the ever-increasing number of deaths in Europe and the U.S., many people are now doing what estate planning attorneys have advised them to do […]

“The Inspector General of Social Security, Gail S. Ennis, is warning the public about fraudulent letters threatening suspension of Social Security benefits due to COVID-19 or coronavirus-related office closures.” As if the elderly didn’t have enough to endure, now comes word that scammers who typically prey on seniors are upping their game. Stating that Social […]

“Have you priced nursing homes lately? In Texas, you are looking at an average annual cost of $50,000. We are on the low end; nationally, the average annual cost is closer to $75,000. New Jersey costs a whopping $109,500 annually.” Medicaid provides several programs funded through a state-federal agreement, explains the article “Planning a must: […]

If you experienced a temporary illness or needed someone to quickly step in to pay your bills, would your finances be organized enough for them to handle? Unexpected events can happen at any time. Without a backup plan, finances are vulnerable. The importance of having an estate plan and organized legal and financial documents on […]

“Take the money you’d normally save for retirement and put it into an account for emergencies.” As the coronavirus spreads across the US, most of our lives have come to a halt. Some Americans are already out of work and millions may end up losing their jobs during a potential recession, says CNBC in the […]

“Estate planning attorneys are getting mobbed with questions. Here is some timely advice from three attorneys on what families and business owners should be doing to prepare, in case the unimaginable happens.” What else could possibly go wrong? You might not want to ask that question, given recent events. A global pandemic, markets in what […]

“When you are a farmer, your business is not only your livelihood and your passion, but, often, it is also intermingled with your family life.” Planning for the end of life is intimidating for everyone, but when the plan includes a family business like a farm or ranch, things can get even more challenging. That’s […]

“What is equal treatment at time of death can be disputed among the children, when some children have received substantially more in lifetime gifts than the others.” Most parents want to divide their estate equally among their heirs, but sometimes things just don’t work out that way. That’s especially the case when one child needs […]

“States can differ dramatically when it comes to long term care regarding availability, quality, government benefits, retirement communities and cost.” What if your parents live in Oklahoma, you live in Nebraska and your brothers and sisters live in New York and California? Having the important conversation with your aging parents about what the future might […]