As adult children delay marriage and elderly parents are living longer, estate planning can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. A recent survey showed that only about 55% of all parents have an estate plan or even a simple will. In addition, almost 25% of people ages 65 years and…
Long-term care insurance is one of the biggest topics of conversation among retirees and estate planners. The industry is going through a period of turmoil with many policyholders now cashing in on their long-term care needs and few new buyers signing up for long-term care insurance. As a result, companies…
There are many couples at retirement age that have been together for years but have opted to not get married for personal, professional, or legal reasons. For these unmarried couples, estate planning is crucial if you want your partner to inherit from your estate. If the homeowner dies without a…
In the age of the internet, concern must be paid to the digital assets in addition to the physical assets of your estate when you pass away. While there have been considerable issues with this in the past, social media companies are finally instituting policies to handle the social media…
Celebrity estate stories are rife with lessons about mistakes to avoid when creating an estate plan, such as problems with the estates of James Gandolfini, James Brown, and Anna Nicole Smith. Poor estate planning can lead to probate, taxes, and family disputes. Failing to create an estate plan or drafting…
When a couple is getting married the last thing that they are typically worried about is estate planning. However, once the honeymoon is over you should sit down with your new spouse and update your individual estate plans to reflect the new status of your marriage. The following tips are…
Living and working abroad while maintaining your United States citizenship can add a layer of complexity to the estate planning process. International property, assets, accounts, taxation, and other issues that can affect estate plans must be considered that normally do not complicate the estate planning process. If you expect to…
In a bizarre care, a woman in New Hampshire admitted in court that she told police that she dug up her father’s grave in search of his “real will” but was rewarded with only vodka and cigarettes. Melanie Nash, 53, pleaded guilty last week as one of four people who…
A Florida Court of Appeals sorted through a complicated question of bank accounts and estates in a case at the end of last year. This case illustrates the complexities of banking law and administering estates in addition to the importance of reviewing the state law regarding estate administration before creating…
The first part of this article dealt with tips to keep in mind when helping an aging loved one with estate planning matters. This included watching for waning mental capacity, exercising any necessary swap powers, reviewing trust principal distribution standards, adjusting the timing of any charitable gifts, amending family limited…