Which life events require an immediate estate plan update?

Since your family’s needs and circumstances are constantly changing, so too must your estate plan. Your plan must be updated when certain life changes occur. These include, but are not limited to: marriage, the birth or adoption of a new family member, divorce, the death of a loved one, a significant change in assets, and a move to a new state or country. READ MORE

3 Ways Your Trust Can Help a Loved One With Mental Illness

When a loved one suffers from a mental illness, one small comfort can be knowing that your trust can take care of them through the good and bad times. Do you have a family member or other loved one who could use the financial flexibility and structural support of a trust? Give me a call today, and together we’ll figure out the best ways to enhance your loved one’s life by finding the right estate planning tools to offer the most help. READ MORE

Do You Really Need a Trust?

Trusts are not simply just about avoiding probate. Creating a trust can give you privacy, provide ongoing financial support for loved ones, and protect you and your property if you are unable to manage your own assets. Simply put, the creation of a trust puts you in the driver’s seat when it comes to your assets and your wishes as opposed to leaving this critical life decision to others, such as a Judge. READ MORE

How to Protect Your Child’s Inheritance from His or Her Untrustworthy Spouse

Parents often complete their estate plan to provide for their children and ensure their hard-earned assets, family heirlooms, or closely held businesses stay within the family. A common question is asked about protect a children’s inheritance from a spouse in the event of untrustworthiness or divorce. Thankfully, there are many ways to structure your child’s inheritance to help ensure it will remain in the family for future generations. READ MORE

Choosing a Successor Trustee

A Successor trustee steps in for you in the event of incapacity and when you die. Since they have a lot of responsibility, they should be chosen carefully. This post explains how to choose a successor trustee. READ MORE

How to Build Freedom From Court Interference Into Your Life Planning

Deciding on a Power of Attorney and having a fully funded Revocable Living Trust are just two of the many steps we can take together to keep your affairs free from court interference at incapacity and at death. With a solid estate plan prepared by a Trusted Advisor you can take comfort knowing that everything you’ve worked so hard to build and maintain will be passed along to only the people who matter most. READ MORE

Embrace the Emotional Side of Estate Planning

When you hear the phrase “estate plan,” you might first think about paperwork. Or you may focus on some of the uncomfortable topics that estate planning entails: end-of-life decisions, incapacity, and your family’s legacy from generation to generation. Those subjects hit home for everyone. But while that could feel like a reason to avoid estate READ MORE

Not Just Death and Taxes: 4 Essential Legal Documents You Need for Incapacity Planning

Comprehensive estate planning is more than your legacy after death, avoiding probate, and saving on taxes, it must contain incapacity planning.  A proper estate plan includes a plan in place to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated during your life and can no longer make decisions for yourself. What happens without an incapacity plan? READ MORE

Estate Planning for Women

While everyone is in need of estate planning, women especially need to understand estate planning and have their own plan in place. The following describes why having a estate planning portfolio, which includes a Trust, Will, Durable Power of Attorney and healthcare documentation is so important for women: Incapacity. On average women live longer than READ MORE