General

Has your estate planning attorney told you that he or she does not handle any estate administration? I know what some of you may be thinking. “Why in the world would I want to work with someone who does not know how these wills and trusts will work out after we pass away”?

Sadly, this has become the reality with some attorneys who try to specialize in fancy estate planning which serves to shelter funds. The truth is; the person who is helping you plant the seeds should also know how to reap the harvest.

Most of us want to know that […]

Too often I have a family come into our office to take care of a loved one’s estate. The conversation can go something like this:

“We’re here to finalize my Uncle’s estate, but don’t worry, it will be easy. He put everything in a Revocable Trust.”
The person usually then goes on to explain that they understand that having everything in a trust means there are no taxes to be paid, and that it will be quick, painless and inexpensive.

I am the one who gets to deliver the sad news. The Trust, because it is revocable, likely has no effect on the […]

Leaving a legacy today includes more than just the traditional things that we leave to others. It now includes our “digital assets.” I challenge anyone to thoroughly define a digital asset. The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (yes, there is such a thing) defines a digital asset as “An electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. The term does not include an underlying asset or liability unless the asset or liability is itself an electronic record.” That’s a mouthful!

From that definition (which is only one of the ‘official’ definitions around today) we learn […]

An article in Forbes Magazine from April of 2014 cites many statistics, among them the fact that approximately 64% of Americans do not have a Last Will & Testament. Some studies put that number closer to 50% or 55%. None of these numbers represent good news. So why is this the case?

The most common reason people give is that they simply “never got around to it.” Dave Ramsey of Financial Peace University fame has a good thought for those people. He says “Do you hate the people in your life? Die without a Will! They’ll spend years fighting each other […]