Estate Planning 23 - Personal Family Lawyer

Why Not Every Child Should be Equal When It Comes to Your Estate Plan

May 29, 2015

It is natural for parents to want to treat their children equally when it comes to inheritances. However, equal treatment is not always the best course of action when it comes to estate planning and gifts. Here are some situations that call for unequal treatment: Naming executors – while your first instinct may be to…

May 29, 2015

If you’re like most Americans, you have a rich digital life. You may bank online, invest online and certainly interact socially online. But where do those assets go after you go? And how will your loved one’s get access to them, if you haven’t left behind specific instructions and passwords? Unfortunately, identity theft is rising…

May 28, 2015

Traditionally, one of the primary reasons for establishing a living trust has been to avoid probate. But there are a few more benefits of a living trust that can help you do much more than that, if it’s set up right: Asset protection for heirs. One of the most significant benefits of a living trust…

May 15, 2015

The shock over the death of 47-year-old SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg, husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and the father of two small children, continues to resonate for many reasons. First, he was so young, how could this happen? Second, they are so rich, how could this happen? Money, youth and success are no deterrents…

May 8, 2015

There is much to be learned from the mistakes of others and the celebrity world abounds with cautionary tales when it comes to estate planning. Even with all the financial resources available to them, celebrities can neglect the basics when it comes to protecting assets. We come across sad tales all the time of “regular”…

May 1, 2015

A 2010 study conducted by the Investor Protection Trust found that more than seven million older Americans — 20 percent of those over the age of 65 — had already been a victim of financial abuse. Here are some tips on how you can ensure your parents (or you in the future) can avoid becoming…

April 24, 2015

A common estate planning mistake many people make – including celebrities like Michael Jackson – is not ensuring the trust you have created holds all your assets. Unfortunately, most lawyers simply do not make sure this is properly handled for their clients, so if you’ve worked with any law office other than ours, you need…

April 24, 2015

Current research shows that only about half of Americans have a will, and probably less than that have changed their wills when certain life circumstances dictate that a change is in order. There are several common occurrences that can trigger a change to your will: Marriage. A will dictates how you want your assets distributed…

April 17, 2015

Once you have chosen the people you want to receive any of your assets — either from a will, a trust, a life insurance policy or a retirement or bank account — the way you designate how they will inherit should be a key consideration. Here are five things you need to know before you…

April 17, 2015

The poverty rate among seniors is rising, giving rise to the question of whether or not it is possible to inherit debt. In general, when a loved one passes, his or her debts fall to the estate to be paid. However, in situations where debt is shared — for example, jointly owned credit cards or…

Include Your Intellectual Property in Your Estate Plan

You don’t have to be a famous producer or household name to own intellectual property. If you create music, own a business, write stories, or build gadgets in your garage, you almost certainly have intellectual property. However, because intellectual property…

Help Your Parents Avoid These New Financial Scams – Part 2

In part one of this series, we explored two popular scams that are targeting older adults this year: the grandparent scam, and cryptocurrency pickpocketing. In this week’s blog, I’m sharing two more scams that you and your parents need to…

Help Your Parents Avoid These New Financial Scams – Part 1

Fraudsters and scam artists are nothing new, but changing tools and technology are making it easier than ever for scammers to target their victims, especially seniors. To protect your aging parents (or yourself) from these con artists, it’s crucial to…