A trustee has a duty under the law to communicate with beneficiaries and keep them reasonably informed as to the progress of the trust administration. Depending on your state’s law, such duty to inform may require the trustee to give beneficiaries a copy of the trust document, provide information regarding the anticipated...
Category: Estate Planning
Cryptocurrency and Your Estate Plan
Cryptocurrency’s popularity has rapidly increased in recent years, with more people buying and selling it. Here are three things you need to know about cryptocurrency in relation to your estate plan.
Beware of the Tax Consequences
Transferring your cryptocurrency to other people, either during life or...
Estate Planning for an Artistic Legacy
Although your death is probably a long way off, it is important that you have a plan to ensure that your affairs are settled in the way that you want. An estate plan crafted by an experienced estate planning attorney is a legally enforceable set of documents that allows you to name...
Provisions to Consider in a Financial Power of Attorney
In a financial power of attorney, you designate a trusted decision maker (agent or attorney-in-fact) to act on your behalf if you become disabled or unable to manage your financial affairs. Depending on the provisions you choose to include, your agent may have the power to buy and sell property, the power...
LGBTQ+ Estate Planning to Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones
Estate planning is for everyone. Regardless of your wealth, age, marital status, gender identity, or sexual orientation, it is crucial to have a plan in place to protect your money, property, and loved ones in the event of an accident, illness, or death.
For LGBTQ+ Americans, estate planning can...
Updating Your Estate Plan: How Many Tweaks Are Too Many?
If your life or the law has changed since you signed your last will and testament (will) or trust agreement, you need to update your document. You can make updates to a revocable living trust by way of an amendment or a complete restatement of the trust agreement. An amendment updates a...
Marital Disclaimers and the Clayton Elections
Deferring, minimizing, or avoiding estate taxes altogether is often an important estate planning goal for married couples. However, uncertainty surrounding what the estate tax laws and the value of their accounts and property will be at the first spouse’s death can leave a couple feeling that they need a crystal ball to make...
Springing Financial Powers of Attorney
Estate planning is about more than preparing for the inevitable. A good estate plan should also consider the unexpected. Your plan may have detailed instructions for what happens when you are no longer around, but what if something goes wrong while you are alive?
If you can no longer manage your affairs,...
Bankruptcy’s Effects on Estate Planning
Bankruptcy may be one of the last things on your mind when you are creating an estate plan. Fortunately, the number of bankruptcy filings has declined over the past several years, but there were still a whopping 544,463 bankruptcy filings in 2020.[1] What happens to your estate if you file...
What is a Pour-Over Will?
Wills and trusts are the two basic legal instruments that people use to pass accounts and property on to their loved ones at death. Although a revocable living trust is often used in place of a will, the two are not mutually exclusive. You can...