Over the years, many sitcoms, memes and jokes have been made about the stress of the holidays. Whether these issues are cooking disasters, family feuds or awkward conversations, the holidays can be a virtual minefield to navigate. Taking advantage of having family...
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Estate Planning
2 ways to transfer your family home in your estate plan
In many American families, the house where people live is the biggest asset the family owns. Even if you have other valuable belongings, your home may have substantial emotional value to you and other people in your family. Obviously, you want to ensure that you can...
Don’t minimize sentimental value when doing your estate planning
When you’re drawing up your estate plan, it’s understandable that you’re focused on who will be inheriting your largest assets, like your bank, retirement and investment accounts. You’re deciding whether you want to leave your home to a loved one or have it sold and...
Tips for creating an estate plan when you have few assets
If you don’t have many assets, then one of your questions may be if you actually need to have an estate plan. The truth is that all people can benefit from an estate plan, because without a will, trust or other protections, your estate could end up going to the state...
Planning an estate that you know will be surprising
Most families have certain expectations about inheritances. However, when all is said and done, the only person who has the right to determine beneficiaries is the person planning their estate. So, even though your siblings, cousins or children have the assumption...
Revising your estate plan as you remarry can prevent family conflict now and later
If you’re tying the knot for a second time and have children from your first marriage, then you can’t expect everything to be as rosy as it was on The Brady Bunch. Even if your kids are grown and don’t spend much time with your new partner, they may resent them...
Your estate plan vs. your beneficiary designations
Your estate plan is, in your mind, the final word on what should happen to all the assets that you own. It gives you the power to divide your estate between your heirs and other beneficiaries. Doing that the way you want to do it is very important to you. However, you...
Don’t hesitate to update your estate plan
There’s nothing better than the feeling you get when you first create an estate plan. Even if it was a difficult process, it’s nice to know that you have a plan in place to protect you, your loved ones and your estate as a whole. But then something happens. As the...
Is it time to review and alter your estate plan?
When creating an estate plan, the only thing you can do is make the best possible decisions at that particular time. However, you should come to grips with the fact that you may need to review and alter your estate plan at some point in the future. There are...
Oral wills often don’t hold up
A deathbed will is a set of oral instructions given by the dying party to someone else in the room. That person then becomes, in some cases, the only one who knows what that person wanted to happen with their estate. But that’s not the only time when an oral will may...
