According to the Pew Research Center, there are close to 20 million cohabitating adults in the United States as of 2019. A growing number of those are people over the age of 50. In fact, the number of cohabitating couples over age 50 grew 75 percent in just ten years. An Indianapolis estate planning attorney […]
Estate Planning
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How to Stop Hesitating and Finally Write Your Estate Plans
Many people understand that they should create an estate plan, but there are many reasons why they hesitate to do so. One of the most common reasons is that it can be difficult to accept that a person will not be around one day. If you die without an estate plan in New York, however, […]
How Beneficiary Designations Can Complicate Your Estate Plan
Many people who have engaged in estate planning understand that beneficiary designations play an invaluable. Despite this, the value of beneficiary designations is overlooked by some people. After signing estate planning documents, it is critical to make sure that your beneficiary designations are consistent with the rest of your estate plan. Otherwise, the possibility arises […]
Steps to Take before Death or Disability
It’s a painful realization that we will all die someday. Even though facing the prospect of your demise can be frightening, utilizing the proper estate planning tools give us control over an area where we have little power. There are also many other helpful strategies that a person should make sure to take before death […]
Estate Planning Documents Every Young Child Needs
Parents can make medical decisions for their children. After a child reaches the age of 18, however, and is viewed in the eyes of the law as an adult and a parent’s ability to make these decisions ends. Fortunately, through the use of a few simple estate planning documents, young adults can avoid this situation […]
What Legal Steps Must Be Taken after a Loved One Dies?
When a loved one passes away, we typically focus on the emotional impact of that loss during the immediate aftermath. Someone, however, must also focus on the legal steps that need to be taken following a death. If that person is you, and you have never before been in this position, you likely don’t know […]
Understanding the Role of Trust Protectors
Trust protectors are becoming an increasingly common part of estate plans in New York as well as the rest of the country. A trust protector refers to someone who is appointed to look over a trust and make sure that the trust is not adversely affected by changes in the law. Appointing a trust protector […]
How is Inheritance Tax Different from Estate Tax?
Many conversations mention estate and inheritance taxes together, but there are some substantial differences between these two things. Both these taxes, however, have one thing in common: not everybody pays them. As a result, it is a wise idea to begin by deciding whether you will be required to pay either of the taxes. Is […]
Digital Assets – Are They Included in Your Estate Plan?
Just about everything you do leaves a digital trail anymore. Moreover, almost everything important to us can be stored in some type of electronic format. What happens to that digital trail and those electronic files when you die? Do you want someone to be able to access them? Conversely, do you want to ensure that […]
Advice on Handling Specific Bequests in Wills
The Supreme Court of Montana recently affirmed a judgment by the district court distributing assets from a trust established by a husband and wife to the couple’s three children. The district court had interpreted the trust creator’s handwritten codicil as a wish and not a specific bequest of the woman’s stock in a company that […]
How Do I Know If I Need to Probate My Mother’s Estate?
If your mother recently passed away, you are undoubtedly mourning her loss. The last thing you probably want to focus on is probating her estate. Someone, however, needs to do so. If it appears as though you are the one who will need to take control of the administration of your mother’s estate, one of […]
What You Should Know About the New York Survivor’s Benefit Program
The Mississippi Court of Appeals recently decided that a man convicted of DUI manslaughter that led to the death of his wife can collect survivor benefits from the state. The late woman had designated her husband as a 40% beneficiary while the deceased woman’s sister was a 60% beneficiary. While Mississippi law permits spouses in […]
Important Estate Planning Steps to Take after a Parent’s Death
Losing a parent is not easy. While being prepared for the event might not make the emotional aspect any easier, it can help to eliminate the potential for additional problems. As a result, this article reviews some of the important financial steps that you can take after a parent passes away. # 1 – Determine […]
Why More than Wills Are Necessary for Estate Planning
Wills play an important part in the estate planning process. The best estate plans, however, include more than wills. Instead, the best estate plans anticipate the numerous complications that can arise at the end of a person’s life. Advance Healthcare Directives Medical powers of attorney and living wills serve an important role that wills simply […]
Choosing a Caregiver for Your Parent
For an adult child, watching a parent age can be very difficult. Somehow we expect that our parents will be forever middle aged. It can become even more difficult if a parent starts to show signs of physical and/or mental deterioration that often goes along with the natural aging process. If that is where you […]
Estate Planning Strategies for Couples without Children
Not everyone can have children, and not everyone wants them. Supporting this trend are statistics that reveal America’s fertility rate is on the decline. In 2018, the number of children born in the United States even dropped to its lowest rate in 32 years. There are numerous reasons why couples are deciding to not have […]
Estate Planning Advice for Millenials
Estate planning changes between groups of people. The necessary estate planning strategies also change between people. Like it or not, it is time for many members of the millennial generation to begin the estate planning process. As a result, this article examines some of the unique challenges faced by this age group as well as […]
Senior Sexual Abuse — It Happens More Often Than You May Realize
The population of older Americans has increased dramatically in recent years, due in large part to the fact that the Baby Boomer generation is reaching retirement age. With seniors now accounting for such a large segment of the population, issues that concern them have taken on a heightened importance. Sadly, this includes the prevalence of […]
New Estate Planning Topics You Should Know About
It is difficult to perform estate planning without taking finances and taxes into consideration. Instead, many people who perform successful planning discover that these three topics are interchangeably related. In the last year, several new topics have been introduced that redefine how each of these three areas. This article takes a brief look at some […]
How Might Guardianship Benefit Your Aging Parent?
If you are the adult child of an aging parent, watching your parent succumb to the physical and/or mental deterioration that accompanies the aging process can be extremely difficult. Making the decision to seek guardianship over your parent can be a heart-wrenching decision because it often feels as though you are taking away a parent’s […]