A young woman recently came to our offices, visibly upset, and told us about a problem she was struggling with. She thought she’d been wronged, but she didn’t understand how to address the situation or what legal options were available to her. The uncertainty scared her and left her asking where to even begin.
We recently met with a couple whose trust was more than 10 years old (see our article on when to have your estate plan reviewed). A lot of life happened during 10 years and the clients got busy and failed to put 6 assets in their trust. Failure to title the couples’ property in their trust could have triggered a lengthy and expensive probate had the couple died without making it to our offices to get all assets in their trust.
Revocable Trusts have become more common over the last 40 years (click here to learn more about Estate Plans), and when the grantor dies (the person who created the trust), their trust becomes irrevocable. This is when YOUR rights as beneficiaries kick in.Being a beneficiary does not mean you simply have to sit back and wait.
It’s a new year and a great time to stop putting off getting an estate plan in place. We meet with hundreds of people who begin with great intentions of getting an estate plan in place, but never make it happen for many reasons.
We often meet with clients who have given someone power of attorney or hold power of attorney for someone. Over the years we’ve heard many myths about what a power of attorney is and what it allows you to accomplish. While you might have a general understanding of what a power of attorney is, we think it’s just as important to understand what it’s not.
We recently sat down with a young couple who has a 6 year old little girl, and plans on growing their family. The couple thought having an estate plan felt like “something responsible” they should do, but weren’t sure why it would be so important since they’re not “old or rich” – this is a common misconception. It’s just as important for young couples to protect their families with an estate plan whether they have $500 or $500,000.
You may be exhausted from hearing about the most significant tax law change in 30 years: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed at the end of 2017. Now the dust is settling, and we encourage you to take a moment to understand what estate planning is and consider the question: why does it matter?
