If your children or grandchildren are on their way to starting their college education, you are probably curious about how to help them achieve their dreams. There are many ways to fund an education, but two of the most popular choices are the 529 College Education Plan and an Education Trust. The 529 Plan The...Read More

Protecting a legacy is an important consideration for many people during the estate planning process, and there are several ways to approach this goal. You’ve probably heard of revocable vs. irrevocable trusts, but you might not be aware of the benefits of setting up a discretionary trust for your loved ones. Here are the basics...Read More

It’s tempting to put off estate planning for as long as possible—after all, no one likes to think about their loved ones going on without them. However, planning for the future is a vital part of making sure those you leave behind are cared for. Often, even people with a large amount of assets neglect...Read More

If most of your estate consists of money you have in an IRA and 401(k) at work and in a life insurance policy, you might have a few questions about how probate affects you, such as: How can I transfer my estate to my heirs in the most efficient manner possible? If I have named...Read More

Trusts can be an incredibly helpful tool to allocate assets throughout a person’s life, as well as providing for loved ones after death. They are especially helpful for people struggling with incapacity or disability. After the person who created the trust passes on, it can protect assets in a number of ways. Creating a trust...Read More

Learning about trusts can help immensely when it comes to estate planning. Placing property in trust can help you avoid a long and costly probate process. But, like other helpful tools, a trust might not fit every situation, so it must be used only when needed. For example, the best tool to use if you...Read More

If you are considering contacting a probate lawyer to help you create an estate plan, you might not be aware a relatively new provision of the law which permits you to end an “irrevocable” trust. It’s a provision that could become very useful should the needs of you and your family change over time. What...Read More

With the advent of websites dedicated to making legal documents accessible for everyone, you might be tempted to use one of these services rather than going through an estate planning lawyer. After all, if you can use Google, you can find a template for a will almost instantly. Why should you get a lawyer’s help...Read More

Most people starting the probate process have one primary question: which of the assets need to go through probate? The answer depends on a number of factors, such as the state you reside in and what sort of property the deceased person owned, but there are a few general rules to keep in mind as...Read More

Probate cases involving married couples tend to be relatively simple. In many cases, executor duties and jointly held assets pass automatically to the surviving spouse in the event of a death if one spouse dies without leaving a last will and testament. Of course, this is not the case when the parties involved are divorced,...Read More