When you create a trust, choosing a trustee is one of the most important decisions you will make. If you create a revocable living trust—that is, a trust that you establish during your lifetime and can revoke or amend—you may opt to act as trustee for your trust, retaining the full control...
Category: Incapacity
Have an Etsy Store? Make Sure It Is Properly Protected
The online marketplace Etsy has gone from a niche craft seller to one of the largest commerce companies in the world. Etsy has millions of active sellers worldwide, most of whom are based in the United States. Many Etsy sellers rely on the site as a primary or secondary income stream. Collectively,...
Disability Panels to Take Back Control
When you create an estate plan, it is an admission of your mortality. But even if you accept that you are not going to live forever, you may be slower to face the possibility that you could become incapacitated before you die.
Although it can be an uncomfortable topic,...
Things You Can Do to Help Prove You Are Mentally Competent When Executing Your Estate Plan
Although we would all like to believe that our family and loved ones will honor our wishes as expressed in our estate plan, contests are more common than you might think. Sometimes, a family member does not receive what they thought they would after a loved one passes away. To try to...
Celebrate Independence Day by Claiming Control of Your and Your Loved Ones’ Futures
Every year on the Fourth of July, Americans across the country celebrate our nation’s declaration of independence from Great Britain. Yet only about one-third of Americans have an estate plan—meaning that most Americans have given up their independence when it comes to deciding what will happen to them should they become incapacitated...
When You May Not Be Able to Use a Financial Power of Attorney
Besides directing what happens to your finances when you pass away, a comprehensive estate plan also addresses the possibility that you could become unable to handle your financial affairs while you are still alive.
You may have signed a financial power of attorney (POA) that allows one or more people to act...
Small Business Owner? Know What Can Happen to Your Business If You Become Incapacitated or Pass Away
Preparing your company for your incapacity or death is vital to the survival of the enterprise. Otherwise, your business will be disrupted, harming your customers, employees, vendors, and ultimately, your family. For this reason, proactive financial planning -- including your business and your estate plan -- is key. Below are some tips...
What Sumner Redstone’s Estate Planning Challenges Can Teach Us
Media mogul Sumner Redstone – owner of CBS and Viacom, among other holdings – allegedly created quite an estate planning mess, according to a recent report in the New York Times. A June 2nd article reports that “with a fortune estimated at over $5 billion, Sumner M. Redstone could afford the best
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Better to Play it Safe: Proactive Estate Planning and Cognitive Impairment
Most financially savvy individuals begin planning their estate when they’re in peak mental shape. The idea that this might change at some point in the distant future is an unpleasant one, and they would rather go about their estate planning as if they’ll be as sharp as a tack late into their golden...
How to Choose the Right Agent for Your Incapacity Plan
A common misconception is that estate planning equates to death planning. But planning for what happens after you die is only one piece of the estate planning puzzle. It is just as important to make a plan for what happens if you become mentally incapacitated.
What Happens Without an Incapacity Plan?
Without a comprehensive...