Musings to give you insight and clarity on all things estate planning and elder law.
If you are motivated to protect your house, you need a plan. The first question you might ask yourself is – from what does my house need protecting?. But there are three common legal risks that you can minimize or avoid by planning ahead.
No one wants to think about their own death or the death of a loved one, much less make plans for it. However, an uncomfortable conversation now is well worth it when you consider the time, cost, and confusion incurred by those without an estate plan in place. Bringing up this conversation, though, can be difficult.
The beginning of the year is a great time to set goals for making improvements. Although eating healthy and working out are good resolutions to make, everyone should also resolve to make sure their estate plans are up-to-date
No one has success in basketball by going it alone. But surrounding yourself with a great team is essential to success in more than just basketball. I’m sure each and every one of them would tell you that they couldn’t have accomplished what they have in life on their own. In basketball and life, success is a team effort.
One of the best gifts you can give your children is to set up your own estate plan. Most people who come to see us, “want to get their affairs in order.” They want to make sure their property is distributed according to their wishes when they pass away. We can definitely help set up a plan to meet that goal. With proper planning, however, you can also avoid probate court and protect your assets from the cost of long-term care.
Many people don’t realize that they can pass on all types of assets, even retirement accounts, to the next generation in safe and protected ways that don’t risk turning the gift into a curse when the recipient proves he or she was not equipped to handle it.
For better or worse, when someone passes away, their property is not distributed based on what’s equitable—or what’s fair—under the circumstances.
Owning a business is a major undertaking. After putting so much of your energy, time, and money into starting and running a business, the last thing you want is for the business to just “end” because something happens to you. But that’s exactly what can happen if you don’t plan ahead for some sort of business succession. Even if the plan is to simply sell the business assets and wrap up shop, things can get very messy without an appropriate plan in place.
The most common asset to force families into probate—the court procedure for distributing your assets when you die—is real estate. When a person owns real estate solely in their name when they die, their beneficiaries must go through a probate proceeding to transfer that property into their name when you pass away.
Benjamin Franklin tells an interesting and insightful story in his autobiography about a voyage he took from Boston back to England when he was a young man. At this time in his life, he was a vegetarian, but the crew of the ship on which he was traveling hauled in a large number of cod and prepared a significant feast, putting Franklin in a difficult positon
© The Elrod Firm. The information contained on this website is intended to provide general information. It is not intended as legal advice, and it does not create any type of attorney-client relationship. Estate Planning and Elder Law are complex fields, and each case is unique. Do not rely on the general information contained on this website when making legal decisions. Seek professional advice. The information contained on this website is the property of The Elrod Firm, and cannot be reused or disseminated without the express written consent of The Elrod Firm.
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