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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Capturing the Stories of Aging Loved Ones: The Power of Family Wealth Legacy Interviews

May is Senior Citizen’s Month, a time to reflect and appreciate all the things the seniors in our lives have done for us. Whether they are our parents, grandparents, or elderly friends, our seniors have given us so much over the years. But sometimes seeing your loved ones aging or seeing how you’ve aged yourself…
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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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4 Ways to Use AI to Make Life Easier for You and Your Family

Whether you’re turning on the news or scrolling through Instagram, it’s hard not to hear about AI technology, so this week I wanted to take some time to cover what the buzz is about and how you can use this technology to make your own life easier.  AI (artificial intelligence) language models like ChatGPT and…
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4 Common Mistakes Made On Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations

Investing in life insurance is a foundational part of estate planning, and when done right it’s a primary way to say “I love you” to your loved ones after you are gone. However, when naming your policy’s beneficiaries, several mistakes can lead to potentially dire consequences for the people you’re investing to protect and support.…
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The right business planning

Why Every Adult Needs A Living Will

When it comes to estate planning and wills, you have a variety of options for legal documents. The most common of these options is a “last will and testament,” which is also known simply as a “will.” But you may have also heard people talk about a “living will” and wonder what that is, and…
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Green Funerals: 6 Eco-Friendly Options For Your Remains

The environmental costs of death are significant and constantly rising. With 8 billion people on the planet right now—all of whom have bodies that die and must be disposed of—we need to start seriously considering alternatives to traditional options for burial and cremation. Fortunately, more and more “green” options are being developed to reduce these…
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7 Issues To Consider When Purchasing Disability Insurance

If you earn a good living now, but you worry about not having enough money for a future time when you cannot work due to illness or injury, disability insurance is your answer. However, you need to make sure you are getting an insurance policy that will meet your needs and not waste your money.…
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5 Smart Ways To Pay For Your Funeral That Won’t Leave Your Family To Foot The Bill

With the cost of a funeral averaging between $7,000 and $12,000 and steadily increasing each year, at the very least your estate plan should include enough money to cover this final expense. And if you are thinking of simply setting aside money in your will to cover your funeral expenses, you should seriously reconsider, as…
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Life Planning

What Is a Trust?

A trust is a legal creation set up to benefit someone or something. For example, some people set up trusts to benefit their children, their grandchildren, or even charities. It is easiest to understand if you think about three separate…

The Top Three Things to Know Before You Sign a Residential Lease

If you own your home or you’ve been renting so long that this information is old hat to you, consider sharing the details with a young adult or almost adult in your family who would benefit from this knowledge. One…

Protecting Your Child with a Special Needs Trust

When you have a family member with special needs, it is important to understand that your estate planning strategy is unique and requires the assistance of an attorney experienced in creating Special Needs Trusts. If an inheritancet is left directly…

How to Protect Family Heirlooms From a Family Feud

The passing of family heirlooms from one generation to another should be welcome tradition in most families, but unfortunately, this process can cause long-lasting family rifts if not done properly. There are many stories of families that have split over…

5 Steps to Fix Your Battered Retirement Plan

It’s no secret that a majority of Americans are ill-prepared for retirement.  A recent Forbes.com post detailed the 5 steps you can take now to being repairing the hole in your retirement plan: Pay yourself first. Set up an account…

Estate Planning for Your Digital Afterlife

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…

Is Your Living Trust Really Going to Work For the People You Love?

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…

How You Can Avoid Being Taken Advantage of Once You Become Elderly

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…

How to Tell If It’s Time to Change Your Will

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…

5 Things You Need to Know Before You Name Beneficiaries

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…

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