Have a Trust? How the Corporate Transparency Act Affects You

Get ready for an interesting twist in the world of legal and business news. You may already be familiar with the upcoming Corporate Transparency Act, set to kick in next year. If you aren’t, it’s time to get in the know because it could impact you, and if you it does, you’ll need support. Starting…
Read More

Keep the Government and Lawsuit Happy Opportunists Away From Your Children’s Inheritance

If you have a current estate plan, I’ll bet you plan to leave your assets to your children outright and unprotected by age 35, or maybe a little later. Go take a look at your estate plan, and see what it does right now. And, if you don’t have an estate plan, and you have…
Read More

Before You Agree to Be a Trustee, Read This!

Being asked by a loved one to serve as Trustee for their Trust upon their death can be quite an honor, but it’s also a significant responsibility—and the role is not for everyone. Indeed, serving as a Trustee entails a broad array of duties, and you are both ethically and legally required to execute those…
Read More

4 Essential Strategies For Protecting Your Family’s Assets

You might think that only the super wealthy need to worry about asset protection planning. But the truth is that if you don’t have millions, you may be at even greater risk. For instance, if you are a multi-millionaire, a $50,000 judgment against you might not be that big of a deal. But for a…
Read More

3 Reasons Why Transferring Ownership Of Your Home To Your Child Is A Bad Idea

Whether it’s to qualify for Medicaid, avoid probate, or reduce your tax burden, transferring ownership of your home to your adult child during your lifetime may seem like a smart move. But in nearly all cases, it’s actually a huge mistake, which can lead to dire consequences for everyone involved. With this in mind, before…
Read More

How Naming Guardians For Your Kids In Your Will Can Leave Them At Risk

If you are a mom or dad with children under the age of 18 at home, your number-one estate planning priority should be selecting and legally documenting both long and short-term guardians for your kids. Guardians are the people legally named to care for your children in the event something happens to you. And if…
Read More

Does Your Family Need Umbrella Insurance?

In today’s highly litigious society you are at near-constant risk for costly lawsuits—even if you’ve done nothing wrong. This is especially true if you have substantial wealth, but even those with relatively few assets can find themselves in court facing a potentially devastating lawsuit. If you are sued, your traditional homeowners or auto insurance will…
Read More

Protect Your Children’s Inheritance With A Lifetime Asset Protection Trust

As a parent, you’re likely hoping to leave your children an inheritance. In fact, doing so may be one of the primary factors motivating your life’s work. But without taking the proper precautions, the wealth you pass on is at serious risk of being accidentally lost or squandered due to common life events, such as…
Read More

7 Last-Minute Moves To Save On Your Taxes For 2021

Although many strategies to save on your income taxes must be locked in before the end of the year, there are still numerous ways you can reduce your tax bill right up until the filing deadline, which has been pushed back to Monday April 18th due to a holiday on April 15th. Some of these…
Read More

Probate: What It Is & How To Avoid It—Part 2

Unless you’ve created an estate plan that works to keep your family out of court, when you die (or become incapacitated) many of your assets must go through probate before those assets can be distributed to your heirs. Like most court proceedings, probate can be time-consuming, costly, and open to the public, and because of…
Read More

Asset Protection

Could an IRA Trust Benefit Your Family?

Unlike most of your assets, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) do not pass to your family through a will. Instead, upon your death, your IRA will pass directly to the people you named via your IRA beneficiary designation form. Unless you…

Saving What Matters: 12 Must-Have Items To Pack in Your Go-Bag

It’s the middle of the night. The authorities just notified you that you have 20 minutes to evacuate your home before a raging wildfire cuts off the exit from your neighborhood, leaving you trapped. The fire is advancing at the…

Is Your Home Insured Against Natural Disasters?

From wildfires in California and hurricanes in Texas to floods in West Virginia, hardly any area of the U.S. is immune from the threat of natural disasters. And according to a report released by the government regarding climate change and…

Don’t Forget to Include Your Digital Assets In Your Estate Plan—Part 2

In the first part of this series, we discussed the importance of including your digital assets in your estate plan. Here, we’ll talk about the best ways to get started with this process. Today, estate planning encompasses not just tangible…

Don’t Forget to Include Your Digital Assets In Your Estate Plan—Part 1

If you’ve created an estate plan, it likely includes traditional wealth and assets like finances, real estate, personal property, and family heirlooms. But unless your plan also includes your digital assets, there’s a good chance this online property will be…

How to Fix Errors in Your Credit Report

While some of those TV commercials for free credit-score report companies are pretty funny, having errors on your credit report is no laughing matter. Indeed, your credit score is one of the main factors determining your access to loans, credit…

Questions and Answers About Personal Liability Umbrella Insurance

It’s no secret that we live in a litigious society. And though our right to a fair trial is one of the hallmarks of American democracy, it has also led to a lawsuit-crazy culture. In this atmosphere, you’re at near-constant…

Don’t Transfer Ownership of Your House to Your Kids Before You Read This

With the cost of long-term care (LTC) skyrocketing, you may be concerned about your (or your elderly parents’) ability to pay for lengthy stays in assisted living and/or a nursing home. Such care can be massively expensive, with the potential…

Donate to a Charitable Remainder Trust For Tax and Income Benefits

If you have highly appreciated assets like stock and real estate you want to sell, it may make sense to use a charitable remainder trust (CRT) to avoid income and estate taxes—all while creating a lifetime income stream for yourself…

Safeguard Your Cryptocurrency Assets With Estate Planning

One of the biggest appeals of cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, is that it is decentralized, unregulated, and anonymous. There are no financial institutions controlling it, and unless you tell someone you own digital currency, it remains a secret. When it comes…

PFL® firms in your area

Group 247

Everything you need to start planning today.

Use our PFL directory to find the right Personal Family Lawyer for you and the people you love.