Your estate plan should include instructions for all of your most valuable assets. The home where you live may be worth more than anything else you possess, making it a crucial asset to handle properly when planning your estate. Given the value of a home, testators...
When parents own cabins or vacation homes, or other types of second properties, they will often leave them to their heirs jointly. For instance, they may have four children and decide to split the ownership of the cabin between all four equally, so that they all own...
Once you sit down to create a comprehensive estate plan addressing your health care needs and legacy wishes, you might assume that you never have to consider those issues again. People often feel a false sense of security about their legacies because they drafted a...
One of the most critical parts of the probate process is simply determining who is entitled to which assets. This is often laid out in the will and other sorts of documents, but that doesn't mean there is never any confusion. For instance, there could be two...
It’s one thing for a family member to leave you a piece of jewelry you’ll never wear. It’s quite another for them to leave you a significant asset like a home or even a car that you don’t need and don’t want to deal with. Maybe you believe someone else in your family...
For various reasons, people are often under the impression that estate planning is only relevant to other individuals. For instance, it is a common misconception that estate planning only applies to those with extreme wealth. Additionally, the subject is often seen as...
A will and a trust are two of the most important estate planning documents. A will is a rather basic document that outlines who gets what when you die. It may also name guardians for your younger children. A trust, on the other hand, is more sophisticated because it...
When someone that you love dies, you may potentially inherit assets from their estate. Few belongings will have more personal or financial value than someone's home, and many testators choose to leave their primary residence or investment properties to the people...
The passing of a loved one can be extremely distressing for family members and loved ones. However, probate (the legal process where assets are allocated to beneficiaries, debtors and heirs) can occasionally result in further tensions. Thus, identifying some of the...
If you’re like many Floridians, you have a home here and one in another state. Maybe your Florida home used to be your vacation home, but now that you’re retired, it’s your full-time residence. However, you still have a cabin on a lake or in the mountains that you’ve...
