Musings to give you insight and clarity on all things estate planning and elder law.
I have always found it appropriate that we celebrate Veterans Day in November—a time of year set aside for giving thanks for the many blessings we have received, not the least of which being the freedom we in America enjoy because of the sacrifice of our nation’s veterans. As this patriotic holiday is currently celebrated, it is a day set aside to recognize the veterans of all U.S. wars, but that has not always been the case.
Sometimes people think they don’t need an estate plan because they’ve named one of their children to be the sole owner of all of their assets when they die. They say, “I’m not worried, I know my daughter will do the right thing.” This is not a good idea.
There is nothing worse than thinking you have everything in order but learning, often when it’s too late to do anything about it, that you really don’t. It almost feels like I imagine a character in a horror movie might feel when he thinks he’s escaped danger. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, only to find that the monster he was trying to avoid is standing right behind him. There are a lot of monsters to avoid in the maze of estate planning.
The framework for Bill Belichick’s Super Bowl XXV plan can work just as well off the field as it did for the Giants’ defense in Super Bowl XXV. In life, just like in football, we must set our priorities in a way that gives us the best chance of success, and then we must deploy the resources we have at our disposal accordingly.
We are proud to announce the release of Justin’s new book, You Need A Plan: How to Prepare for Death, Taxes, and Long-Term Care
Nothing motivates people to get their affairs in order quite like an upcoming trip.
As estate planning attorneys, our job is not to simply plan for best case scenario, but to include provisions in your plan for what will happen in the worst case scenario.
Don’t let stories you hear in the media confuse you. Having a will is better than nothing, but it does not make things simple, and it does not keep you out of probate court. Even having a trust won’t keep you out of probate court if you don’t use it right. You must fully fund your trust to protect your family and your estate.
Clients frequently ask if we can just set up a simple will for them. They don’t have a whole lot and they don’t want anything fancy or complicated. Although we certainly could draw up a “simple will” for someone, the result of doing that type of planning is not the outcome most people want.
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