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 is intangible, it’s often overlooked in estate planning. And if you do have intellectual property,…
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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 be aware of, plus tips for staying protected. Let’s dive in.   03 | PERSONALIZED…
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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 equip yourself with the knowledge of how these scams work and what your loved ones…
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10 Life Events That Signal It’s Time to Review Your Estate Plan – Part 2

You might think that estate planning is something you can complete one time and then check off your to-do list for good. But the reality is that in order for your estate plan to work for you no matter how your life changes, your plan needs to change with it. To make sure any big…
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10 Life Events That Signal It’s Time to Review Your Estate Plan – Part 1

Maybe you thought that creating a Will or Trust is something you can do once and then your family and assets are protected forever after. It seems to be how most lawyers structure their services, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you did think this. You work with your lawyer, they draft documents, you bring…
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Awakened Planning: How to Talk About Estate Planning at Your Family Reunion

July is National Family Reunion Month and the perfect time to reconnect with family from near and far, share life’s updates, and reminisce about the wonderful memories you share together. If you’re getting together with family this month, it’s also a perfect time to talk to your loved ones about your shared goals, family resources…
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Vacation Ready: Essential Legal Preparations for a Worry-Free Getaway

Vacations are a time to relax, unwind, and create beautiful memories with your loved ones. But before you set off on your adventure, it’s essential to ensure that your legal affairs are in order so you can fully relax during your travels.  Can’t imagine doing one more thing before you take some much-needed time away? …
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The Importance of Customized Estate Planning for LGBTQ+ Relationships – Part 2

Last week we started the discussion of why it’s so important for LGBTQ+ families to invest in custom estate planning. While major strides for LGBTQ+ rights have been made in recent years, estate planning law is still written with hetero, cisgender couples in mind, which means that your wishes and your rights may not be…
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The Importance of Customized Estate Planning for LGBTQ+ Relationships – Part 1

June is a time of celebration and reflection for the LGBTQ+ community as Pride Month shines a spotlight on the progress made in the fight for equal rights. While significant strides have been made, such as the legalization of same-gender marriage and increased recognition of LGBTQ+ families, there is still a large gap in estate…
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Want to Grow Wealth? Warren Buffet’s Unexpected Investment Advice

If you are going to take investment and estate planning advice from anyone, Warren Buffett is likely one you want to consider. As one of the most successful investors in history, his track record speaks for itself. However, his wisdom goes beyond picking stocks and making money.  At this year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting,…
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Estate Planning

7 Reasons to Consider a Trust for Your Family

Do you consider trusts to be instruments of the wealthy?  While it is true that many Americans of means have trusts to protect and pass their wealth, there are a number of reasons why trusts can also be useful for…

How to Create a Plan to Ensure Your Pet’s Care

Most of us who have a pet consider them to be a part of the family; unfortunately, the plans we may have so carefully put together to protect our loved ones do not take our pets into consideration. According to…

Why Estate Planning is for Life, Not Death

We know that no one likes to think about death, especially their own.  Which is why many people procrastinate when it comes to estate planning.  Because it’s for when you die, right?  Wrong!  When done with a Personal Family Lawyer,…

Tips & Rules for Estate Executors and Administrators

If you have been named the executor of someone’s estate or the Trustee of a Trust, you may be unaware of all the details this responsibility entails.  Most parents name a child as an executor, but seldom do children then…

How to Care for Children with Special Needs Through Estate Planning

For many people, the basics of estate planning are simple enough, but for those families with loved ones who are disabled or have special needs, the estate planning process is more involved – and definitely more critical. The latest statistics…

Consider Your Estate Plan Before You Travel

We are fast approaching the holidays, when travel is the busiest and careful planning is necessary to nab the best airfare or book that New Year’s beach cottage before it slips away.  One thing that is probably not on your…

How Much Do You Charge for a Will?

If you came to this page to find out what I’ll charge you for a Will or you are considering calling me (or any other attorney) to ask, “How much do you charge for a will?” stop. It’s not the…

Windsor Ruling Expands Estate Planning Prospects for Married Same-Sex Couples

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor invalidated the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  The Windsor ruling has led to a number of recent federal rule changes from the IRS, Social Security Administration and…

The 10 Keys to Planning and Living Your Best Retirement

Three-day weekends like the Labor Day just passed give us all the tiniest snippet of a glimpse into what retirement might be like…i.e., extra time to do what we want.  But to have a fulfilling and enriching retirement, you need…

Taking the Complexity Out of Estate Planning

Remember that old joke: How do you eat an elephant?  Answer: One bite at a time.  At the heart of that gag is the truth about how you tackle any seemingly complex task, taking it one step at a time…

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