Losing a parent is not easy. While being prepared for the event might not make the emotional aspect any easier, it can help to eliminate the potential for additional problems. As a result, this article reviews some of the important financial steps that you can take after a parent passes…
Articles Posted in Estate Planning
Why More than Wills Are Necessary for Estate Planning
Wills play an important part in the estate planning process. The best estate plans, however, include more than wills. Instead, the best estate plans anticipate the numerous complications that can arise at the end of a person’s life. Advance Healthcare Directives Medical powers of attorney and living wills…
Estate Planning Strategies for Couples without Children
Not everyone can have children, and not everyone wants them. Supporting this trend are statistics that reveal America’s fertility rate is on the decline. In 2018, the number of children born in the United States even dropped to its lowest rate in 32 years. There are numerous reasons why…
New Estate Planning Topics You Should Know About
It is difficult to perform estate planning without taking finances and taxes into consideration. Instead, many people who perform successful planning discover that these three topics are interchangeably related. In the last year, several new topics have been introduced that redefine how each of these three areas. This article…
How to Reduce the Risk of Revocable Trust Litigation
The California Court of Appeals recently decided the case of Winston v. Winston-Levin, which reviews some important estate planning considerations. In 1986, Robert Levin created a revocable trust, which he later revised several times. Sadly Robert passed away in 2015, and litigation occurred concerning subsequent revisions to the trust when…
Should Medicaid Planning Be Included in Your Estate Plan?
State plans for medical assistance under federal Medicaid law must comply with certain requirements located in Title 42 U.S.C. § 1396a.4, but do not always do so. In 2018, the United States District Court for the District of Alaska in the case of Disability Law Center of Alaska v. Davidson…
A Quick Guide to New York MOLST Forms
One of the common responses that many people have as they learn about estate planning is that there are a number of estate planning documents. In addition to things like wills, living wills, advance directives and powers of attorney, there also also a number of other important documents. In…
Advice from Sveen v. Melin on the Importance of Beneficiary Designations
In 1997, Ashley Sveen purchased a life insurance policy. Later that year, Ashley married Kaye Melin and named Melin as primary beneficiary on his life insurance policy. Sveen also named his two adult children as contingent beneficiaries. Several years later, Minnesota amended its revocation on divorce. Sveen and Melin…
Lessons from Groucho Marx: Reducing the Risk of Elder Abuse
By the time that the legendary screen actor and comedian Groucho Marx became a senior citizen, he had a difficult time making a number of decisions regarding his daily life. During this time, Marx’s companion, Erin Fleming, was accused of elder abuse and experienced a deterioration in his relationship…
Estate Planning Challenges Faced by Unmarried Couples
Statistics show there are an increasing number of older individuals who are divorcing later on in life. There is also an increasing number of individuals who are discovering that living together as an unmarried couple has its advantages. According to the United States Census Bureau, the number of unmarried…