Estate Planning

Transitioning a family business to the next generation very often involves gifting ownership. Here are some tips on gifting ownership to the next generation: 1. Gifting needs to be part of an overall succession strategy. While gifting ownership in a family business is very common, it would be very problematic to make a gift without […]

At first, it may seem like a responsible idea to put your important estate planning documents into a safe deposit box at a bank, where the documents will be safe and protected. But storing your documents this way could result in unintended consequences upon your death. If a Personal Representative (PR) or Trustee has not

You may have created a trust to protect your assets if you need nursing home care or, you may advise clients who have done this.  I am going to call this type of trust a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust. As you probably remember, five years must pass before the assets in this trust are protected. 

A couple months back, I wrote about the Medicaid Rules, how they apply to your home, and introduced the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust.  This month, I would like to further explain the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust and how it is used to protect your home. To start, let’s review the general structure of a Medicaid

A trust is a great way to ensure that your final bills will be paid, your personal property will be distributed, and your remaining assets will be distributed or held in trust per your wishes.  A trust also allows for someone to manage the trust assets for your benefit while you are still alive but

An original document (versus a hard copy or electronic copy) is less meaningful to people who regularly deal with digital documents and electronic signatures.  People growing up in a digital age do not always connect the importance of having possession of the actual document that a person signed with a pen!  However, the original Last

Understanding the estate planning process may help you or a loved one take the first step to get this important planning in place.  It’s as easy as: Contact Us. Call or email us to setup a time for us to get together to discuss your personal/family situation and your estate planning goals. Tell Us About

Every estate plan should include a document naming someone else to handle medical decisions when you are no longer able to.  The terminology most commonly associated with this document includes: a medical directive, advanced directive, living will, patient advocate, and health care power of attorney.  No matter the name, this document contains important language about

One of the primary reasons people create a trust is to avoid probate.  A revocable living trust is the most typical trust used to ensure that your wishes are carried out.  But sometimes this well-intended plan falls short if the trust is never funded. I always tell clients that their estate plan is not done

This is often a difficult decision. Some people struggle because they’d like to name all of their children, but understand that may only complicate the process. Others have a child or person in mind who is very capable, but he or she lives far away from them. Other people don’t have any children or friends