Does Treating Your Children Fairly Mean Unequal Inheritances?
When thinking through their estate plan and how they want their assets (money and property) managed after they pass away, most parents wish to treat their children equally, often out ...
Undoing an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust: Options and Alternatives in a Changing Estate Tax Landscape
The irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) has long been a staple of estate planning. This tool is designed to hold life insurance policies and remove the death benefit proceeds from ...
Want To Disinherit Someone? This Is What You Need To Know
Disinheritance—the intentional exclusion of a family member, usually a child or spouse, from receiving part of your estate after your death—is more common than you might think. It is also ...
5 Reasons Uncle Bill May Not Make a Good Trustee
If you have created a trust that you intend to last for decades, choosing the right trustee is critical to ensuring the trust’s longevity and ultimate success. Initially, you ...
Ways to Keep a Loved One’s Memory Alive After They Pass
When somebody close to us passes away, we are left with constant reminders of them. Maybe it is a jacket hanging in the closet that still bears the scent of ...
4 Tips to Avoid a Will or Trust Contest
Fighting over provisions in your will or trust can derail your final wishes, rapidly deplete your financial legacy, and tear your loved ones apart. However, with proper planning, you can ...
The Wrong Successor Trustee Can Derail Your Final Wishes
Many estate plans contain revocable living trusts that will become irrevocable (cannot be easily changed or terminated) when the trustmaker dies. Such trusts may benefit the surviving spouse during their ...
Handling a Loved One’s Debts After They Die
Americans are, quite literally, getting buried in debt, with nearly half expecting to pass away with outstanding debts.1 As a general rule, a person’s debts do not go away when ...
Estate Planning for Collectors and Hobbyists
Americans often prefer to stay busy. When we are not working, many of us turn to hobbies to keep us engaged and productive. We spend hours each day on our ...
Does Your Revocable Living Trust Reduce Your Federal Estate Tax Bill?
Many believe that once they set up and fund a revocable living trust, property held in the trust will completely avoid federal estate taxes after they die. In reality, a ...