813.252.7529Category Archives: Estate Planning
Revocable Trusts, Divorce, and Your Estate Plan
Setting up a revocable trust is one of the most convenient and most flexible ways that you can keep your assets out of probate. If you and your spouse set up a revocable trust, then you can use as much of the money as you need for yourselves and even pay some of it… Read More »
Is Your Will Out of Date?
As every retiree knows, some things get better with age. Your dad jokes are even funnier now that they are grandpa jokes, and now that collecting vinyl records is back in style, there is no telling which of your other old hobbies will soon get the appreciation that they deserve. Of course, two of… Read More »
What Happens When You Marry the Love of Your Life After Inheriting Money from Your Parents?
Finding true love late in life is a beautiful thing. The previous pain you have experienced, whether it is from divorce, the death of your first spouse, or just many years of loneliness and assuming you would never find your perfect match, makes you appreciate your partner even more. Even if you had a… Read More »
Your Out-of-State Relative or Your Local Lawyer: Who Is a Better Candidate for Personal Representative of Your Estate?
An important part of your estate plan is designating someone as the personal representative of your estate, also known as the executor of your will. For many married people, their spouse is the obvious choice, but if you are widowed or divorced, or if you have never been married, the choice is not so… Read More »
How to Avoid Family Feuds: Appraise Your Clutter
There are two popular clichés about personal possessions as part of estates, and they both miss something important. The first is that, if you don’t specify in your will which personal items will go to which family member, they will fight bitterly over your possessions. By this logic, two sisters will never speak to… Read More »
Be Sure to Update the Beneficiaries on Your Payable on Death Bank Accounts Regularly
In the field of education, there is a saying that good teaching means always revising your plans. Even if a lesson worked beautifully last year, a good teacher reviews the lesson plan before implementing it during the current year and adds any changes that could make it work better. The importance of constant revision… Read More »
Transfer on Death and Payable on Death Clauses: A Simple Way to Keep Assets Out of Probate
Your will specifies who you want to inherit each of your assets after you are gone, but following the instructions in your will is only one part of the probate process. In fact, your family members, lifelong friends, or favorite charitable causes will only receive their share of your estate after probate is finished,… Read More »
Probate Provides an Opportunity to Resolve Disputes About the Estate of a Deceased Person, but Better Solutions Are Available
When you are the personal representative of the estate of a deceased person, probate can feel like an unnecessary burden. For example, why do you have to wait a minimum of three months before you can collect any of the money that the deceased person left to you in his or her will? Why… Read More »
Introduction to Probate and Estate Law Vocabulary
A big part of what lawyers learn in law school is the terminology related to the various practice areas of law. When you are involved in a legal case, the vocabulary related to it becomes a part of your life. For example, if you are divorced and your ex-spouse disagreed strongly about alimony and… Read More »
Ask an Estate Planning Lawyer: Who Will Inherit Your Airline Miles?
If you have been working with an estate planning lawyer, you might think that all of your assets are accounted for in your estate plan. Maybe you have placed some of your assets in a trust, so that they will not have to go through probate. Perhaps some of your accounts are transferable on… Read More »
