You may think that if you die while you are married, everything you own will automatically go to your spouse and children. But you are actually thinking of state rules that apply if someone dies without leaving a will. In legal jargon, this is referred to as dying intestate. In that case,...
Category: Kids
Preparing Your Senior for the Real World
High School Seniors Can Use a Starter Estate Plan
If you have a high school senior at home, childhood is soon coming to an end for them as they prepare to graduate, turn 18, and enter the “real world.”
You have done everything you can to...
Estate Planning Is a Great Way to Help You Celebrate the Holidays
It Is Time to Make Your Estate Planning List and Check It Twice
“He’s making a list. He’s checking it twice. He’s going to find out who’s naughty and nice . . . .”[1]
The estate planning process can sometimes be similar to Santa’s process. You decide who should...
Back to School: Time to Protect Your Child’s Future
Personal Guidance from beyond the Grave
Life can get hectic for parents when the school year starts. Parents often juggle many different responsibilities, which increase with the number of children they have and activities the children participate in. Most parents feel like they need to be in five places...
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as spending a day under the summer sun without proper protection can leave you with a painful sunburn, an unfinished or out-of-date estate plan can inflict harm on you and your loved ones.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...
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...
What Happens to Elvis’s Legacy Now?
Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, died in 1977. Like most celebrities of his stature, he left behind a complicated legacy—and a considerable estate. Elvis’s estate, including Graceland, ended up in the hands of his only child, Lisa Marie Presley, who passed away in January at fifty-four years old. It...
How to Keep Your Child’s Inheritance Out of Your In-Law’s Hands
About 40 to 50 percent of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. Regardless of how you feel about your child’s spouse, you must face the possibility that they could become your child’s ex-spouse. Should that day come, the money you leave to your child could be subject to a...
Dutiful Child or Manipulator of the Elderly?
As parents age and their physical and mental capacities diminish, it is natural for their adult children, recognizing the parents’ decreasing ability to care for themselves, to step in and help them. Often, a specific child will take over the bulk of the responsibilities such as taking the parent to doctor’s appointments...
Make Sure Your Kids Are Prepared with This Summer Camp Checklist
Summer camps are expected to be back in full swing this year after two pandemic summers forced them to close or operate at limited capacity. Camp is a great opportunity for kids to make new friends, try new activities, and gain self-confidence and resilience. But as parents and counselors know, a lot...