Recent Blog Posts
Are Assisted Living Facilities Overrated?
In the opinions of their most outspoken proponents, assisted living facilities are the ideal place for frugal seniors to spend their retirement years. They are affordable, and you get as much or as little help as you want. It is the best of both worlds, where you get to live independently, but the staff… Read More »
Should You Provide For Your Animal Friends Through Your Will Or A Trust?
Despite what the most search engine optimized content, and more recently, the most chatbot optimized content, will tell you, trusts are not a cloak of invisibility to stop the IRS, your estranged spouse, or your ungrateful children from ruining your fun. When most people create trusts, it is because they want to give money… Read More »
Do You Get Paid To Be The Personal Representative Of An Estate?
Being the personal representative of a deceased person’s estate is work, and there are various reasons why someone might welcome the task or why someone might dread it. If the testator of the will named a family member as personal representative, the personal representative might see his or her role as personal representative as… Read More »
Signs That You Should Hire A Probate Lawyer
You never procrastinate, and you never shy away from difficult tasks. You always file your taxes before March 31. When you moved to Florida, you got the hurricane shutters on your house functional by May of the first year you were here. You unpack your suitcase by the time you go to bed on… Read More »
Do You Have To Disinherit Your Ex-Spouse When You Get Divorced?
The general principle of estate planning is that, when you write your will, you can leave property to anyone you choose and disinherit anyone you choose. If you disinherit close relatives, they have a chance to challenge your will during probate, but the burden of proof is on the disinherited family members to persuade… Read More »
How Bad Is It To Drag Your Feet Before Opening An Estate For Probate?
Once you open a deceased family member’s estate for probate, you are constantly trying to meet deadlines. You must file the decedent’s final tax return by April 15 or else file for an extension, in which case you must file it by October 15. Once you publish the notice to creditors, they have three… Read More »
Lady Bird Deeds Are Lighter On Their Feet Than The Average Life Estate Deed
If you have a blended family and are capable of thinking about anyone other than yourself, then you probably find the stories of probate “stepparent wars” disturbing, the ones where the decedent’s spouse spends years in court fighting with the decedent’s children from a previous marriage. Estate planning lawyers tell their clients early and… Read More »
Who’s Afraid Of Early Withdrawals From Retirement Accounts?
If you have an employer-provided retirement account, you can confidently say that your financial situation could be worse. When times are good, you daydream about required minimum distributions, working out various scenarios on your calculator, spreadsheets, or retirement planning websites about when you might retire, how much you will withdraw and what year, and… Read More »
Can Credit Insurance Simplify Your Probate Case?
In our current economic conditions, getting out of debt can feel hopeless. When you are young, borrowing money feels exhilarating. You look forward to paying off your car loan or home mortgage and living debt free while your savings pile up. In your youthful innocence, you don’t know how hard it is to pay… Read More »
What Are The Remedies For Wrongful Disposition Of Remains?
If you have thought about any of the provisions of your will, but not yet written it, you have probably thought about which family members, friends, or charities you want to inherit which items of property from your estate. You might even have someone in mind to designate as personal representative; the person can… Read More »
