Reports

Why create an estate plan? You don’t have to be a millionaire to benefit from an estate plan. Reasons to create an estate plan are as unique as the individuals who create them. If you own a home, have minor children and/or grandchildren, grown children in their own marriages, have been divorced, own a business, […]

How to ensure you’ve covered the basics One thing should be clear by now: we do our families and ourselves a great disservice when we fail to plan for every contingency. That’s why a crucial first step in this entire process should be a consultation with an estate planning attorney. He or she will help […]

lIVING TRUSTS: CALCULATING THE BENEFITS Chances are you’ve already heard a lot about the attributes of Living Trusts: avoiding probate and legal quagmires, sometimes lowering estate and/or income taxes and protecting privacy. Yet it’s also important to receive solid estate planning guidance before making final decisions, and to carefully weigh the benefits and potential drawbacks. […]

Dangers of do-it-yourself wills and living trusts Estate planning is an essential part of life and death. In planning for our future and our family’s future, we must take stock of who we are, what our goals are, and how we want our estate distributed. With the easy availability of do-it-yourself wills and Living Trusts, […]

Would you like to know the intimate details of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ life? You don’t have to read her story in the tabloids or wait for the latest unauthorized biography. You can peruse the details of her financial affairs and her last wishes for her loved ones in the public records of the state of […]

Trust Administration—What You Need to Know Trust Administration is the process people often find themselves in unexpectedly, after the death of a spouse or parent who created the trust prior to passing on. It comes during a very emotional time, and often brings with it difficult and complex financial and family issues. The task of […]

Although Joint Tenancy offers some short-term conveniences, in the long run it poses a host of problems that can cost you and your loved ones many times the expense and headaches you thought you were avoiding. For the vast majority of American couples, “till death do us part” also means, “till death do we hold […]

Introduction Incapacity planning is a broad area of law that covers how you are cared for if you become physically or mentally unable to care for yourself. The type of care could range from simple tasks like buying groceries, paying bills, and handling financial matters to more important decisions such as selling real estate or […]

The passing of someone close to you is a difficult and emotionally draining time. The last thing you likely want to deal with is the business of settling your loved one’s final affairs. But, if you are a potential executor, it’s one of those things that must be done, and it’s not as horrible as you may have feared.

Using This Report At first glance, the concept of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) seems simple enough: a structured way to save for your golden years while deferring taxes on your growing nest egg. Unfortunately, that simple idea becomes one of the most complex areas of estate planning once IRS rules are applied. That means […]