Every year we make New Year’s resolutions. By February we realize we’re not going to keep them. It’s hard for us to argue that you should make your own resolutions. But we do have a suggestion for you, related to your estate planning. Not “you should get in here to sign a new will” or…
This week we looked for cases (and stories) illustrating important principles from probate court. We found a surprising batch of cases, and wanted to share them all. Hence this probate potpourri. We have four cases (from California, Louisiana, Maine, and New York) to share with you. California: “right of survivorship” may not mean what it…
When someone acts as fiduciary — as trustee, personal representative, conservator or agent under a durable power of attorney, they might want to charge for their work. How do they set their fiduciary fees, and what are the rules? In this podcast episode, we discuss fiduciary fees, and what you might reasonably expect. Necessarily we…
When we meet with a new client, we ask a lot of nosy questions. You can guess why we are so invasive, but we do want to assure you that it is more than just prurience or idle curiosity. We really do need to know about family dynamics, capabilities of your family members (or limitations),…
We sometimes meet with grandparents who are worried about their child’s ability to raise their grandchildren. Sometimes the grandparents are in a child custody fight. Most often they are genuinely concerned about real shortcomings. Occasionally their complaint is really about access being cut off. But last week we read a story about a grandmother and…
Are living trusts oversold? That is, do you need a trust? This basic estate planning discussion is the one we probably get asked about most often by our clients. There is much mystique about the need for and utility of revocable living trusts. Are there people who should not create one? Are there others who…
When do you need to do your special needs planning? Do you have a child who receives Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) or Medicaid benefits? If so, you need to get working on your special needs planning. Is there someone in your family (a grandchild, a niece or nephew) receiving such benefits? You need to think…
Families — and practitioners — frequently face a problem associated with our mobile society. After a family member moves across state lines, in which state should any court actions be filed? In other words, who has jurisdiction over adult guardianship proceedings? Wait — isn’t there a law on that? We’ve written before about the Uniform…
Want to simplify the administration of your estate? Give everything away! In this week’s podcast, we discuss gifts and gift agreements you might consider. Is it really a good idea to give everything away before you die? Probably not, for most people. But giving away some things might benefit the recipient and allow you to…
When you sign a trust, you probably have a vision of how the trustee will operate. Will they continue to utilize your trusted advisors? Liquidate all your carefully-selected assets? Understand your intentions regarding distributions to your beneficiaries? You might place restrictions on your trustee to make sure they behave in accordance with your vision. Much…