A prepaid funeral is when a person and/or that person’s family pay for funeral services and related costs while the person is alive. For many individuals, dealing with the financial aspects of the funeral and burial process is simply one more element of comprehensive estate planning. When someone passes away, there is an exhaustive list […]
One of the benefits of proper estate planning is to ensure that you, and your assets, will be taken care of even if you are no longer able to do so yourself. You may become disabled, for instance, and be unable to make important health care decisions for yourself and/or be unable to manage your […]
The plan includes a trust and a pour-over will to ensure that any assets not transferred to the client’s trust during her lifetime will end up in her trust after her death. Her trust includes numerous provisions to ensure the assets left in trust for her children are well protected. Sound like a solid plan? Yes, but…
Last month, in its unanimous decision in Clark v. Rameker, the United States Supreme Court decided that an inherited IRA does not have the same bankruptcy protection as a non-inherited IRA.
Planning for a Loved One with Special Needs In general, a trust is a legal device whereby property of some sort (real estate, cash, tangible personal property, etc.) is managed by a person, termed the Trustee, for the benefit of certain other people, termed the beneficiaries. A special needs trust, also called a “supplemental needs […]
Successor Trustee Meeting May 2014 On May 31, 2014 we held our annual Successor Trustee Meeting. More than 80 of our clients and their family members attended! We were delighted to see such a crowd, and even more delighted to spend some time chatting with many of you and answering your questions. We began […]
Preserving Wealth Over Generations Several common sayings refer to the phenomenon of losing inherited wealth. One is “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” Another is “the first generation makes it, the second spends it, and the third blows it.” These sayings are supported by numbers. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, […]
The Consequences of Life Estates A life estate is a form of ownership in which property owners transfer ownership in their property, most commonly their home, while retaining the right to use and occupy it for the remainder of their lives. This type of ownership is used to avoid probate of the property and also […]
Signing Nursing Home Admission Agreements As A Responsible Party When a person is admitted to a nursing home, it is often a family member who manages the details of the move. If you are managing a loved one’s transition into a nursing home, you will likely be asked to sign a nursing home admission agreement […]
Over five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease and this number continues to grow. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. It is difficult to overstate the devastating impact Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias have on patients and their families. One way to mitigate this impact is to […]