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Updating Your Estate Plan: How Many Tweaks Are Too Many?

If your life or the law has changed since you signed your last will and testament (will) or trust agreement, you need to update your document. You can make updates to a revocable living trust by way of an amendment or a complete restatement of the trust agreement. An amendment updates a specific part of the trust whereas a restatement creates a new set of operating instructions for the entire trust. You might think that an amendment would cost less than a restatement, but that is not necessarily true. If you have a will, you can make small changes or updates with a codicil. You also have the option to create a new will with new instructions.

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An Estate Plan Should Not Be a Set-It-and-Forget-It Endeavor

As we all know, life happens. There is really nothing we can do about it. However, some of the most common life events can have a dramatic effect on your estate plan. If you think your estate plan is like a slow cooker and you can set it and forget it, you and your loved ones may be in for a stomach-turning surprise when it is time to put your plan into action. Let us take a look at some common life changes and the impact they may have on your already established estate plan.

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What Happens to Your Social Media Accounts at Your Death?

According to Statista, more than 295 million people in the United States use social media.[1] If you are an avid social media user, have you considered what will happen to your accounts when you die? If you have spent time creating, uploading, and sharing content, it is important to take a look now at what will happen after you pass away so you can determine your content’s future.

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What Is a Separate Revocable Living Trust?

When a couple engages in foundational estate planning, one of the first questions addressed by estate planning attorneys is whether it makes sense for the couple to use a revocable living trust (RLT) as a part of their plan. If using an RLT makes sense, an important follow-up question to married couples should be whether it makes sense for them to use a joint RLT or separate RLTs.

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How Your Financial and Estate Planning Team Has Your Back

Comprehensive estate and financial plans are not just for the wealthy. Anyone who cares for a person or cause and who wants to provide for the person or cause after they die can benefit from such plans. Along with comprehensive estate and financial plans comes a team to help you create, manage, and support those plans. This team includes your estate planning attorney, financial advisor, certified public accountant, insurance agent, and even your spiritual advisor.

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When You May Not Be Able to Use a Financial Power of Attorney

You may have signed a financial power of attorney (POA) that allows one or more people to act on your behalf if and when you become unable to act for yourself. However, a financial POA is not valid in certain situations. Knowing when your POA will not be recognized is an often-overlooked aspect of estate planning. To ensure that you have anticipated every contingency, you should discuss with your estate planning attorney the POA exceptions noted in this article.

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Defining “Fair Market Value”: The Case of Wilburn v. Mangano

When reading through a will or trust agreement, you may see language that grants a right to an individual to purchase certain property from the estate or trust at “fair market value.” At first glance, this phrase may seem a perfectly reasonable method of setting a suitable purchase price for a property to be sold at a later date. But a recent court case out of Virginia teaches an important lesson to those who have a will or a trust that relies solely on the term “fair market value” to set a future price of property.

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Simultaneous Deaths: What If My Spouse and I Die at the Same Time?

The chances of a married couple dying in a common accident or within a very short time of one another are probably quite slim. However, it does happen. And it happens frequently enough that most states have laws to address the issue and the problems that can arise from simultaneous deaths. What are these laws, why do we need them, and can we work around them if we need to?

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