Recent Blog Posts
Getting Started on Estate Planning: Important Questions to Ask Yourself and Your Attorney
Planning your estate is one of the easiest tasks to avoid, even if you do not normally procrastinate. The reminders that one day, your family members will interact with your estate and not with you personally are often the flipside of joyous occasions, such as the birth of a grandchild, your retirement from a… Read More »
Issues to Watch Out for with Your Power of Attorney
Powers of attorney can be valuable documents in a person’s estate plan, but without proper guidance from an experienced estate planning attorney, the document may not work as intended or needed, or fail completely because it is not valid. Powers of attorney are intended to assign power to perform certain acts to third parties… Read More »
Considerations for Estate Planning between Same-Sex Couples
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2015 granting the right to marriage to same-sex couples, they have enjoyed the same rights and benefits previously extended exclusively to heterosexual couples. However, many couples pre-date this time, and may have executed an estate plan that has not been updated, and thus, does not take this… Read More »
How Transfers to Family Members Can Jeopardize Your Future Medicaid Benefits
It is natural to want to financially help family when a person has the means, especially as one gets older and sees their own children start families. However, a person never knows when a medical event or accident could send them to a nursing home for an extended or permanent stay. Paying for nursing… Read More »
Estate Planning and Family Members with Disabilities
The purpose of estate planning is generally two-fold: one, to bring clarity to the distribution of one’s estate after death, and two, to safeguard the financial security of one’s family for as long as possible. This often entails determining if some family members will need more support due to unique issues, and a family… Read More »
Why Titling Assets Is the Key to Effective Estate Planning
Putting together an effective estate plan takes a considerable amount of time and effort, but the mistake many people make after taking this step is not understanding how to keep this structure relevant and effective as circumstances change over time. Without this oversight, the intent and purpose of an estate plan can be rendered… Read More »
Proposed Bill Would Make Executing Estate Documents Easier
The ramifications of the documents created to form the foundation of an estate plan typically extend to encompass many people and central legal matters that govern a person’s life and property. Because of the importance of the information and authority these documents contain, they must be executed according to certain guidelines in order to… Read More »
The Best Ways to Transfer Real Estate
Owning property in this country is not only the goal of many Americans, it is much more accessible than property ownership in other places. Keeping property in the family is also an important part of the reason behind any purchase for most individuals, and this concern is particularly crucial when the primary owner dies… Read More »
How Do Courts Interpret Wills?
The effectiveness of any document, particularly those with legal consequences, rests on how well it was drafted. Wills can be especially tricky because they are commonly created years before they are needed and can never entirely account for the various changes in circumstances that can arise during this time. Thus, something that seemed clear… Read More »
Family Caregivers and Medicaid Eligibility
As family members age, it is not uncommon for them to experience physical and/or mental issues that require the services of a caregiver to keep them healthy and safe. Going to a nursing home is an option in this situation, but this may not be the desired scenario at this stage. Family members frequently… Read More »
