When you form a trust as part of your estate plan, one of the most important decisions you will make is who will oversee the trust’s management when you are no longer able to manage it (also known as your successor trustee). Because a trustee’s work may be time-consuming, complicated, and risk...
Category: Personal Representative
What if I Cannot Find a Beneficiary?
When someone has named you as the executor (also known as a personal representative) of their will or the trustee of their trust passes away, you are obligated to distribute that person’s money and property according to the document’s terms to the designated beneficiaries. (For convenience, the roles of executor and trustee...
Three Tips for Overwhelmed Executors
While it is an honor to be named as a trusted decision maker, also known as an executor or personal representative, in a person’s will, it can often be a sobering and daunting responsibility. Being an executor requires a high level of organization, foresight, and attention to detail to meet responsibilities and...
Think Your Estate Plan is Complete? Make Sure You’re Not Missing These Important Points
Roughly two-thirds of Americans do not have an estate plan, according to a recent survey from Caring.com.[1]
If you are among the minority of US adults who have prepared a will, living trust, and other end-of-life documents, you may think that your estate plan is settled. But...
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...
Does a Domestic Partner Have the Same Rights as a Spouse When It Comes to Estate Planning?
The short answer to whether couples in a domestic partnership have the same rights as married couples when it comes to estate planning is probably not. To a large extent, the state in which you live, and maybe even the city or county, determines domestic partners’ rights.
What Is...