Most people today have an IRA, and sometimes more than one. IRA’s and 401(k)’s and other qualified plan assets have become more popular, taking the place of more traditional pension plans. Whether an employer makes any contributions, or not, people are increasingly aware of their own need to put money aside for retirement into pre-tax…
According to The National Center for Education Statistics, about 35% of children ages 3-21 have some kind of learning disability. About 20% have a speech or language impairment. More significantly, about 9% of this population has autism, 6% have an intellectual disability, another 6% have developmental delay, 5% have some kind of emotional disturbance, and…
The benefits of doing a living trust and transferring your assets into the trust during life are many. A primary benefit is that your estate will circumvent the probate process when you pass, if you do things right, saving your loved ones many months of administrative burdens, delays, attorney’s fees and other costs. You also…
The concept of a trust is difficult for many people to grasp because a trust is a concept, and therefore is intangible. Another intangible concept that is more familiar, and therefore seems easier to understand, is a corporation. Corporations have some similarities to trusts and, therefore, provide a helpful comparison. A quick look at the…
Other aspects of estate planning are more complex, but choosing a trustee is one of the more difficult decisions to make. Conventional wisdom suggests that people should have several trustees in order of succession, but sometimes choosing even one successor trustee can be difficult. This is true whether we are talking about a living trust that is…
People often confuse executors and trustees. Both roles are important when it comes to estate planning, but the roles are distinctly different. Understanding the difference between executor and trustee will be helpful when you think about doing your estate planning. Simply put, executors are to Wills what trustees are to Trusts. An accurate picture of the…
A beginning question for couples who want to avoid probate by using a trust or trusts is whether to use a single, “joint trust” or to use separate trusts, one (or more) for each spouse. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Many couples own all or most of their property jointly, and couples naturally want to duplicate…
People like stories, and I have gathered a few in the years I have practiced law. During the time I have been representing people doing estate planning and handling estates, I have seen many things, both good and bad, that are examples of what to do and what not to do. Most of the bad stories involve not…
“Avoiding probate” is a buzz word that is often stated and sometimes confused. The probate process is often misunderstood, even by people who are sure it should be avoided. Wills do not “avoid probate”, and probate does not subject an estate to taxation, though both concepts are often believed to be true. So, what is…
I do a lot of estate planning for spouses, and one topic comes up over and over again. When I have clients who want to make life easier for their loved ones and avoid probate, the best way to do that is to use living trusts. The question, then becomes, should they have one, joint…