Living Will – Having a one is Crucial Have you ever given thought to who benefits from good estate planning? There are many good answers. Estate planning can benefit your spouse and it can benefit your descendants who stand to inherit your assets after your die. And in another sense it can benefit whoever […]
Assisted Reproductive Technology and Estate Planning Estate planning is often seen as a conservative, static area of the law, where common practices adhere to customary norms and traditions. But one area where good comprehensive estate planning must adapt is in reaction to the many new and different ways in which assisted reproductive technology is revolutionizing […]
When a family member dies, there are many legal and financial things that need to be taken care of. That process is commonly called “estate settlement.” It is also called Probate. There are costs involved with the estate settlement process. Taking care of all that needs to be done usually entails a lot of work. […]
Many families are hesitant to discuss financial affairs together. Parents do not necessarily want their children to know how much or exactly what they have. Some do not want their loved ones to know exactly how they plan to dispose of their assets when they die. However, what we strongly recommend for each and every […]
While most marriages are entered into with a great deal of bliss and optimism, nonetheless many of those marriages end in divorce. From an estate planning perspective, it always prudent for a marrying couple to enter into a prenuptial agreement that proactively addresses spousal support requirements and division of assets as well as in the […]
Many of our small business owner clients enjoy having their children or other family members work with them in the business, and their “exit plan” relies heavily on transferring responsibility for running the business to those family members. Frequently, however, these plans are made with the best of intentions but not properly documented and memorialized, […]
When it comes to estate planning, everybody wants a Will. Many people believe that good estate planning begins and ends with having a Will and they think once they have a Will, all their estate planning problems have been solved. But unfortunately there is much more to the story than that. While we do not […]
Changes to Probate Court Funding in Connecticut Prior to the start of the State of Connecticut’s current fiscal year that began on July 1, the State’s General Assembly made some important changes to how the state’s Probate Courts are funded. The new budget reduces state funding for the Probate Courts down to zero for the […]
Since the purpose of a Will is to document your wishes for who should be the executor and who should receive your solely-owned assets after you die, it should be a fairly straightforward matter to change that document if you later change your mind, right? Yes, and no. Like many types of legal documents, in […]
Last time we gave a brief description of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that recognized same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. Same sex marriage is now a right nationwide. Now that same-sex couples have the option of marrying in a manner similar to that of opposite-sex couples, it is worthwhile to […]