Articles Posted in Estate Planning

Many people are familiar with the concept of “power of attorney”, but less have an idea about these documents operate. A power of attorney is used to give one or more individual the power to act on your behalf or as your agent in case something happens to you.

The powers granted through a power of attorney document can be limited in nature to specific activities or can a broad range of abilities. The powers granted through a power of attorney document can also be either temporary or permanent in nature.

The purpose of this article is to review some of the common misconceptions that people have about power of attorney documents and how they operate.

Most people are familiar with the concept of power of attorney even if they are not familiar with the various nuances associated with the estate planning process.

Power of attorney allows a person to appoint another individual as an agent who will make financial and health care cases in cases the person who created the document becomes incapacitated.

There are actually several different types of power of attorney documents. Fo example, durable powers of attorney which allows an individual to appoint someone to make financial decision, while contingent powers of attorney become effective once a person becomes incapacitated.

Even after divorce, it is still important to get together with the people we love and value and the most.

The families of divorced parents, however, discover that these events are often stressful and that there is a substantial chance negative emotions can get in the way. When former spouses are capable of working together peacefully, however, these gatherings can be a part of any important event.

As a result, this article lists some of the tips and suggestions that you should follow to make sure that the process of family get togethers continues as easily as possible following a divorce.

The Idaho Supreme Court recently affirmed a court’s award of damages for unjust enrichment. The case, Turcott v. Estate of Clarence D. Bates, concerned a woman and her husband who spent a substantial amount of time and money making improvements for the woman’s father with the assumption that the woman would inherit half of the father’s estate.

The father, however, changed his will and decided to leave nothing to his daughter. As a result, the daughter filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for the work that she performed. The district court subsequently determined that there was not any implied in fact contract between the woman and her father. The court, however, awarded damages under a theory of unjust enrichment.

This article takes a brief look at unjust enrichment claims in New York state as well as the various defenses that can be raised in response to these claims.

When Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018, she was not believed to have had any type of estate plan. Months after her death, however, several handwritten wills were located in the late singer’s home.

While some people think that handwritten wills are never valid, this is simply not true. Instead, handwritten wills play a unique role in the estate planning process.

This article takes a look at the role that handwritten documents can play in the estate planning process as well as the limited situations in which these documents are allowed.

As time passes, an increasing number of people are finding out that they have digital assets as part of their estate plan. No matter if it’s audible content, digital documents, or social media page, however, it is often critical to appoint someone who can properly look over these assets in case something happens to you.

As a result, this article reviews some of the important steps that you should follow when selecting a person who will manage your digital assets.

# 1 – Understand the Importance of an Asset Guardian

The Indiana Supreme Court recently upheld the removal of a father as the administrator of his deceased son’s estate. The son was killed in an accident in July 2007 when the vehicle that he was traveling in was struck by a bus.

The man’s surviving daughter was subsequently placed under the guardianship of her aunt. Several days after the accident, the deceased man’s father petitioned the state’s Superior Court to appoint him as a special administrator of his son’s estate for pursuing wrongful death compensation.

One day after petitioning for an appointment, the mother of the the deceased man’s other child petitioned for appointment as special administrator and her petition was also granted, which led to the woman commencing a wrongful death action in Marion County.

Each year, thousands of Americans rely on assisted reproductive technology to have children. While this advancement in the medical industry has allowed people who would have otherwise been unable to have children do so, it is not without its complications.

One of the frequently overlooked areas impacted by artificial reproductive technology is estate planning. This article takes a brief look at the role of assisted reproductive technology and how it impacts end of life decisions.

# 1 – Artificial Reproductive Technology Is Playing a Powerful Role

The Portland Museum of Art in Maine recently initiated legal action against the caretaker of an art collector. The Museum claimed that the caretaker bequeathed as much as $2 million to museum, but was convinced to not do so before her death.

As a result, the art collector changed her will months before death in 2015 and removed the Portland Museum of Art as a primary beneficiary. In legal briefs filed in preparation of the case, the museum alleged that caretaker displayed characteristic signs of elder abuse and kept the art collector from interacting with her family.

Unfortunately, there are a number of cases where one person manipulates another individual who is in a vulnerable position to an illness or an advanced age. This manipulation is often done to defraud the individual and take their money.