man assisting a disabled woman

“If you have a child or other family member who has special needs due to physical or mental conditions, you face a variety of challenges planning for their care, including financial ones.” Well-meaning relatives may not understand that putting a family member with special needs in their will could put your family member’s lifestyle and […]

Family Pulling Party Favors During Christmas Dinner

“Just as you have trust in a relationship, trusting your document and those with responsibilities in the trust are crucial to obtaining your objectives.” A trust of any kind is a document that expresses your wishes while you are alive and after you have passed. The need for a dedicated trust for loved ones differs […]

extended family

“Done right by a lawyer, your heirs can avoid the expense and time of probating your will and may save on estate taxes, while easing the administration of your affairs while alive and after you have gone.” Trusts are used to solve problems in estate planning, giving great flexibility in how assets are divided after […]

man assisting a woman on a wheelchair

“It is critical that parents and grandparents give careful thought to any gift of money or bequest in an estate plan, when the recipient has special needs.” Parents and grandparents do all they can to help their children and grandchildren lead their best lives, and that often extends to the child or grandchild’s adult lives. […]

Children Holding Hands on School Playground

“Estate planning generally focuses primarily on lifetime protection and post-death distribution of assets. Special needs planning focuses primarily on the individual beneficiary’s lifestyle and care needs.” Special needs planning is far more detailed than estate planning, although both require regular reviews and updates to be effective. For creating a wholly new plan or reviewing an […]

question mark

“Estate planning is all about ensuring that your wishes are met after your death. All estate plans should include a will and powers of attorney. However, in many cases, a trust has additional benefits beyond what can be accomplished with the will and powers of attorney.” How would funding a trust with life insurance work, […]

Minority Family

“LOIs may also include whatever you think may help the people you leave behind or who would take over if you are not capable.” A letter of instruction, or LOI, is a good addition to the documents included in your estate plan. It is commonly used to express advice, wishes and practical information to help […]

Family Pulling Party Favors During Christmas Dinner

“We may think of a spoiled heiress to a large fortune, whose parents were savvy enough to prevent her from having full access to her funds. On the other hand, we could imagine a loved one with special needs, whose needs will be provided for with trust-protected money.” Trusts serve many different purposes in estate […]

Family Pulling Party Favors During Christmas Dinner

“Trusts are legal entities that own assets, and all trusts are not alike. They are created by a written trust document with certain provisions that can vary from trust to trust.” There are a few things all trusts have in common, explains the article “All trusts are not alike“, from the Times Herald-Record. They all […]

man assisting a woman on a wheelchair

“Having a child with special needs can come with all sorts of unique challenges from a financial and estate planning standpoint. Public benefits, for example, can play a huge role in anticipating how much money your child will need down the road in your later years, as well as when you’ve passed away.” Many government […]