Definitions For Common Estate Planning Terms
FEBRUARY 3, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 5 Judging from the questions we field online and from clients, there is a lot of confusion about some of the basic terms commonly used in estate planning. We thought maybe we could do a service (and make our own explanations a little easier) by collecting some of the […]
Determining Which Court Has Jurisdiction Over Your Trust
JANUARY 13, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 2 In the past four or five decades there has been a tremendous growth in the use of trusts (usually, but not always, revocable living trusts) for estate planning purposes. Once very rare, they are now very popular. Perhaps as many as half of our estate planning clients choose […]
Trust Administration Dispute Ends Up Costly for Complainant
MAY 20, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 20 One of the reasons people create living trusts is to reduce the likelihood of disputes among family members. In fact, any well-written estate plan — whether it involves a living trust or not — should focus at least partly on that worthwhile goal. Most estates do get settled […]
Some Questions We’re Being Asked a Lot Lately
APRIL 29, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 17 You probably have read that Congress has made big changes to the estate tax system. More accurately, Congress has made “permanent” the big (but piecemeal and temporary) changes introduced over the past decade. We hear a lot of questions from our clients about what those changes mean. Here […]
How To “Fund” Your Revocable Living Trust
APRIL 15, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 15 We keep bumping into versions of the same story: “Mom and dad created a revocable living trust. They wanted to avoid probate, and my sister lives in a group home because she is developmentally disabled. The trust named me as trustee, and my sister’s share goes into a […]
I Just Want to Put My Daughter’s Name On My Deed
NOVEMBER 5, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 40 We hear that request all the time. “I want to make it easy for her when I die — just put my daughter’s name on the deed,” client after client insists. When we resist, they think we are acting too much like lawyers. There are no statistics out […]
We Suggest Two Positive Things About Probate — But Not Too Vigorously
SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 36 Two weeks ago we wrote about why you might want to plan your estate with an eye toward avoiding probate. We hope you concluded, with us, that the probate process may not be as onerous as one would believe based on its bad reputation. We concluded with a […]
Is It Important to Avoid Probate? Why, or Why Not?
SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 35 Earlier this year we wrote about how to avoid probate. We told you at the time that we might later address whether to avoid probate. This week we’re going to tackle that topic. You might be thinking something like: “‘whether to avoid probate’? Isn’t that foolish? Of course […]
Living Trust Does Not Prevent Court Involvement After Misuse of Funds
JULY 16, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 27 Living trusts are increasingly popular and common. One of the principal attractions for most people who execute living trusts is that they can avoid the complication, cost and oversight of the courts and of lawyers. That usually means the trust signer’s family can save money and hassle. Lack […]
EINs for Trusts: The Questions Just Keep Pouring In
APRIL 16, 2012 VOLUME 19 NUMBER 15 Tax ID numbers for trusts. When we first wrote about this topic, we did not appreciate how interested our readers would be. We thought that the issue was sort of dry, actually, and that most people would have asked their lawyer or their accountant for direction. It has […]
