Have you ever wondered why we make New Year’s resolutions? It’s part aspiration and part tradition. "We tend to set resolutions because...

Have you ever wondered whether there’s a difference between a Last Will and a Living Will? In my experience, many people get them...

I recently heard about a wealthy gentleman who’d suddenly passed away. He’d made some great financial decisions during his lifetime,...

I often talk about the two big questions we ask (and answer) when preparing a client’s estate plan: · No. 1 => What happens to my stuff...

When I meet with families after a loved one dies, I often run into a recurring problem… the failure to revise/update beneficiary...

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen people make over the years is... leaving assets directly to a minor, disabled or spendthrift child...

I say it all the time, trying my best to spread the word that having a Last Will and Testament DOES NOT allow your family to avoid the...

In my last blog post, I talked about the two big questions we ask (and answer) when preparing an estate plan: · What happens to...

There are two fundamental, over-arching questions we answer when preparing an estate plan. The first question – what happens to my things...

Imagine this - you’re eighteen, it’s your senior year in high school, and you’ve just received a pile of cash from a distant relative...

I often meet people who, when they learn I’m an estate attorney, tell me: "I don’t need a trust to avoid probate. All I really own is my...

Over the years, I’ve heard so many different reasons (excuses) why people don’t have an estate plan: "I don’t have much, so I don’t need...

“I was getting along in age, and I’d heard about the difficulty others had getting their assets to their family when they died. So, I had...

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, most people over 65 will eventually need help with daily living tasks,...

Mistake #1: Doing nothing because you think planning for death means you’ll die sooner. Truth/Solution: Everyone dies, but some have...

Fairly often, I meet with an adult child who’s attempting to help their aging parent with some financial or medical issue… for example,...

Congratulations, you have a Last Will and Testament! You’re feeling pretty good about yourself, aren’t you? I mean, after all, you’re one...

Having a blended family comes with some challenges, one of which is ensuring a surviving spouse has enough to live on while also...

True story - a few years ago, I consulted with a client who’d used an online website to prepare her estate plan. She then got the...

As you probably know, I often write about the “horror stories” resulting from the failure to properly plan…. the estranged son who shows...