Category: Estate Planning FAQ

While it may seem great to inherit a vacation house, in actuality it may not be practical to keep the property, especially for tax reasons. 

Revocable trusts are a very popular and useful estate planning tool. But the trust will be ineffective if you do not actually place your assets in the trust.

Many websites offer customized, do-it-yourself wills and other estate planning documents.  Although these products are convenient, using them could create serious and expensive legal problems for heirs. 

When you inherit property, such as a house or stocks, the property is usually worth more than it was when the original owner purchased it.

Allocating your personal possessions can be one of the most difficult tasks when creating an estate plan. To avoid family feuds after you are gone, it is important to have a plan and make your wishes clear.  

Many people incorrectly believe that if they are single, they don’t need a will or other estate planning documents.

More and more transactions are done digitally, but estate planning has lagged behind technology. That may be changing, though. Even before the coronavirus pandemic made social distancing necessary, electronic wills were gaining legitimacy. 

While the internet makes our lives more convenient, it also adds new complications.  For example, what happens to all our online data and assets if we become disabled or die?

A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person (or an institution, such as a bank or law firm), called a “trustee,” holds legal title to property for another person, called a “beneficiary.” There are many benefits to creating a trust. 

Estate administration is the process of managing and distributing a person’s property (the “estate”) after death.