Protecting biological heirs in a Wisconsin blended family is less about “cutting out” a spouse and more about balancing two competing goals: providing for the surviving spouse and ensuring children from prior relationships ultimately receive their intended inheritance. Without careful planning, Wisconsin’s default rules and common estate tools can unintentionally favor one...
Category: Heirs
Wisconsin Estate Planning: How do you protect biological heirs in a blended family in Wisconsin?
Protecting biological heirs in a Wisconsin blended family is less about “cutting out” a spouse and more about balancing two competing goals: providing for the surviving spouse and ensuring children from prior relationships ultimately receive their intended inheritance. Without careful planning, Wisconsin’s default rules and common estate tools can unintentionally favor one...
Wisconsin Probates: What Happens when Heirs and Beneficiaries Can’t be Located?
When heirs or beneficiaries can’t be located in a Wisconsin probate, the estate can’t ignore them; instead, the personal representative must use reasonable diligence to identify and find all interested persons before distributing the estate. That duty includes identifying heirs and beneficiaries, obtaining current addresses, providing required notices, and keeping records of...
How Do You Define the Beneficiaries of Your Dynasty Trust?
Many estate plans incorporate irrevocable dynasty trusts, which can offer benefits such as tax minimization and asset protection. The benefits of these types of trusts continue for a surviving spouse’s lifetime and several future generations. The actual duration of the trust can be affected by such factors as state law and how...
The Passing of Senator Dianne Feinstein: Estate Plan Lessons for Blended Families
Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving female United States senator in history, passed away in September at the age of 90. First elected to the Senate in 1992, Feinstein leaves behind a political legacy that spanned nearly 31 years. She also leaves behind an estate that is thought to be worth tens of millions...
Estate Planning for Expatriates
The United States hosts the highest number of immigrants in the world, but increasingly, Americans say they are looking to relocate permanently to another country. A large percentage of wealthy Americans are also interested in buying real estate overseas and living there at least part-time.
While moving overseas is...
Estate Planning News You Can Use to Beat the Heat of Uncertainty
Just as spending a day under the summer sun without proper protection can leave you with a painful sunburn, an unfinished or out-of-date estate plan can inflict harm on you and your loved ones. In this newsletter, we explore the importance of creating a comprehensive estate plan to protect your legacy and...
What Is a Devise in My Estate Plan?
If you are thinking about creating an estate plan, you may hear some new and confusing terms that make your brain hurt. To add to your bewilderment, not only are some of the words unfamiliar, they may also be homophones—words that are pronounced the same as other words, but have different meanings...
Are You Single with a Minor Child? If So, You Need a Plan
You have a minor child who depends on you for their survival, so you need to make sure that they will be cared for if you are ever unable to care for them. By creating an estate plan, you can address your minor child’s care and custody and provide instructions about how...
Why Deathbed Planning Might Give You Additional Grief
None of us likes to think about our own death or enjoys planning for that occasion. However, if you do not create an estate plan or fail to update it regularly, you are likely setting your loved ones up for even more stress and grief after you pass away. It may add...