Estate Planning and Administration

So you have been asked if you are willing to be the Executor of your Aunt Mildred’s Last Will & Testament. You are asking yourself, what does an executor do? Fair question. There is a statutory answer to that question¹, but I want to give you a general answer so that you can have a better idea of whether or not you want to agree to help Aunt Mildred in this way.

Being named the executor or executrix in a Will means that you are the person who is being trusted to carry out the testator’s wishes.² You will be the […]

Mateya Law Firm’s computers have been hacked. We want to make you aware of how this happened so that you can learn and, perhaps, protect yourself. We are in the midst of a computer upgrade. We are still running two older computers on the Windows XP system. The virus, CryptoLocker, attacked the older computers only and it locked us out of our own data.  The virus then demands a ransom for the “key” to unlock your data. We are not paying any ransom.

It does not appear that any private information was stolen.

The good news is that our internet protection, Carbonite, […]

It seems to go in cycles . . . you don’t hear anything about “Living Trusts” for a year or two, then someone like Suze Orman says . . .

“You must have a trust.” So what about you? Do you need a trust? Suze says you do (and unless I’m mistaken, you haven’t met Suze personally).

This is not a ‘bash Suze Orman’ column. She has solid financial insights on some things. This is a blog to tell you that the “one size fits all” living trust is dangerous.

Estate planning, like financial planning, needs to be personalized. The computer programs or […]

Having a Last Will & Testament in place is important, the cornerstone of most estate plans. But there are other documents which should be a part of your estate plan as well. A Last Will & Testament does not go into effect until after you pass away. What about when you need help in the here and now? One document which may help is a power of attorney document.

You can appoint an agent through a power of attorney document. Your agent will be able to act on your behalf if you are unable or unavailable to act for yourself. Your […]