I’ll be presenting a seminar at the Orem Public Library on Estate Planning for Blended Families. When Wed, April 5, 7pm – 8pm Where Orem Public Library, Media Auditorium (map) Description Couples with blended families face special challenges when it […]
One of my many weaknesses is maintaining focus. Often it seems squirrels are everywhere. And that’s frustrating because when I am focused, my head down, I move forward quickly and accomplish a lot. So it was that I got excited when I heard John Grant describe so-called Kanban Boards on a Legal Talk Network podcast. […]
At the link is an interesting piece at WealthManagement.com that compares the reasons people gave in 1927 for not making a will with the reasons people give now. It’s worth a read if for no other reason than the photographs from those bygone days are great. That said, here are the reasons people gave in […]
There’s a misconception out there that if you use a revocable living trust in your estate planning, you avoid probate and save on all those costs associated with probate. Well, maybe and maybe not. First, in order to avoid probate, virtually everything you own has to be owned in a way that will do just […]
Just because you have a will and a living trust doesn’t mean you’re finished with the estate planning process. There is another, essential step, a step called funding your trust. Remember, among the reasons you have (or hope to have) a will and living trust are to avoid probate to the extent possible and to make […]
Let’s be clear on this one point: If you don’t have a will, the state has one for you. That is, if you die without a will, your state’s law of intestacy will step in and make sure your assets go to someone. If you’re lucky, your desires will coincide with the state’s. If you’re […]
So a relative just gave me a blank copy of her parents’s will and trust, documents prepared for them by a financial planner, a guy not licensed to practice law. I have no idea what this guy knows about financial planning. I know that he knows very little about wills and trusts. Here’s a short […]
So you have a will and maybe a revocable trust, documents you’ve paid your attorney good money for. And in your will–and probably in your trust as well–you’ve said you want this item of personal property to go to him and that item to go to her and some other item to go to someone […]
Brian Vnak, over at MarketWatch, just penned a piece titled “How to Take the Stress Out of Estate Planning.” He gives four ideas to support his title, among them, number 3: “Gift assets while you’re still living — addition by subtraction.” That’s a good idea, by the way, if only to take the monkey off your […]
Courtesy of the ABA, here’s a link to an on-demand webinar that should answer a lot of your questions about estate planning. As the brief description of the webinar says, “The program is intended for the general public and does not require a background in the law of wills or trusts or tax.” Click on […]