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

A Prolonged Death Provides Lessons for the Living

Everyone agreed on one thing:  Marlise Munoz was dead.  The 33-year-old Texas wife, mother and paramedic got up in the night on Nov. 26, 2013, to tend to her toddler son and suffered a pulmonary embolism.  Her husband Erick, also…

How to Preserve a Family Vacation Home with a Trust

If you are fortunate enough to have a family vacation home, you know the emotional value it holds for every member of your family.  Many cherished family memories are rooted in a special place, which makes it important for current…

How to Pass Along Family Heirlooms Peacefully

A recent Wall Street Journal article noted that boomers and seniors are more interested in passing along family heirlooms and history, leaving a legacy for future generations that extends beyond money. Citing a 2012 survey by Allianz Life Insurance that…

6 Tax Questions to Ask Before Year-End

Everyone’s “to-do” lists seem to grow longer at this time of year, but yours is incomplete until you ask your Personal Family Lawyer® to support you to get these six tax questions answered before the end of the year: Should…

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…

10 Tips for Charitable Giving This Holiday Season

According to a recent Forbes article, Americans donated more than $316 billion to charity last year – and most of that came from individuals.  Holidays are a traditional time of giving, and not just because we like to get in…

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,…

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…

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