No matter how well you think you know your loved ones, it’s impossible to predict exactly how they’ll behave when you die or if you become incapacitated. No one wants to believe that their family members would ever end up fighting one another in court over inheritance issues or a loved one’s life-saving medical treatment, but the fact is, we see it all the time. Family dynamics are extremely complicated and prone to Read More

When it comes to estate planning, most people automatically think about taking legal steps to ensure the right people inherit their stuff when they die. Although that thought is not wrong, it also leaves out a very important piece of planning for life, and perhaps the most critical part of planning. Planning that’s focused solely on who gets what when you die is ignoring the fact that death isn’t the only thing you Read More

If you are like many homeowners, your home is likely your family’s most valuable and treasured asset. In light of this, you want to plan wisely to ensure your home will pass to your heirs in the most efficient and safe manner possible when you die or in the event you become incapacitated by illness or injury.  Indeed, proper estate planning is as much a part of responsible homeownership as having homeowners insurance Read More

As you likely already know (but may not have given much thought about) the most important inheritance you provide is so much more than the money you’ll leave behind, but also includes your values, insights, stories, and experience. And, while those things are being passed on happenstance on the daily, we know that intentionally creating a Family Wealth Legacy requires more than happenstance. That’s why as a Personal Read More

If you are like many homeowners, your home is likely your family’s most valuable and treasured asset. In light of this, you want to plan wisely to ensure your home will pass to your heirs in the most efficient and safe manner possible when you die or in the event you become incapacitated by illness or injury. Indeed, proper estate planning is as much a part of responsible homeownership as having homeowners insurance Read More

Yours, mine and ours… in today’s modern family, it’s oh so common. The blended family is the product of 2nd (or more) marriages, in which one or more of the parties comes with children from a prior marriage. And then, they may even go on to have children together. If you have or are part of a blended family, it’s important to understand how estate planning could be exactly what you need to keep your family out of Read More

Even if you put a totally solid estate plan in place, it can turn out to be worthless for the people you love if it’s not regularly updated. Estate planning is not a one-and-done type of deal—your plan should continuously evolve along with your life circumstances and other changing conditions, such as your assets and the law. No matter who you are, your life will inevitably change: families change, laws change, Read More

When it comes to estate planning, you’ve most likely heard people mention a couple of different types of wills. The most common is a “last will and testament,” which is also known simply as a “will.” But you may have also heard people talk about what’s called a “living will.” Both terms describe important legal documents used in estate planning, but their purpose and the way in which they work is very different. Here Read More

The pandemic has caused Americans to change their behavior in a number of different ways, and one of the most positive of these changes is related to estate planning. For the first time since the study’s inception, Caring.com’s 2021 Wills and Estate Planning Study found that young adults are now more likely to have an estate plan than middle-aged adults. Specifically, the study found that in 2020 only 16% of Read More

A comprehensive estate plan – which we prefer to see as a Life and Legacy Plan – can protect what matters most to you. For many, this means everything you own and everyone you love. Obviously, this includes  providing  for the care of your children as an essential piece of your  peace of mind. But many parents struggle with including such provisions as naming a legal guardian for their child in their plan. Even the Read More