Category Archives: Estate Planning
If You Placed a Child for Adoption, Can He or She Inherit From You?
Estate planning lawyers often say that you should never write a will when you are angry, but writing a will when you are angry is better than not writing one at all. Even if you wrote your will just to make sure that your cheating spouse or your ungrateful youngest daughter didn’t get a… Read More »
Encouragement for the Retirement Averse
Some people fear old age but look forward to retirement, but you are the opposite. You have never understood the FIRE movement, which stands for “financial independence, retire early.” The Great Resignation makes no sense to you. Why would people quit their jobs when they do not have another job lined up or enough… Read More »
Finally, Some Affordable Housing for Grandfamilies in D.C.
Online advice about preparing for retirement could stand to be more inclusive; it tends to focus on a small subset of retirees and to ignore major changes to the financial circumstances of many Americans. For example, if you go online to get ideas about what to expect in retirement, most of the articles and… Read More »
Retirement Is Not an Endless Summer Vacation
It has been a long time since you have had to think about the back-to-school routine, but you see it happening around you. For you, summer ends when it is cool enough that you can tolerate a Metro ride with your suit jacket on, but for everyone else, there is a bigger seismic shift… Read More »
Reverse Mortgages and Your Estate Plan
By now, you have heard the young people complaining about how the only way to be able to afford to buy a house is to have rich parents. Even though homeownership has long been considered the hallmark of financial stability, not everyone whose name is on the title to a house feels financially secure. … Read More »
Earth to Medicare: Seniors Need Dental Cleanings, Too
There are some people in this world who seem determined to look on the bright side of everything. No matter what you complain about, they will always turn it into an opportunity for gratitude, even when it is a legitimate grievance. If you complain about paying taxes, be thankful that you have a job. … Read More »
Do Revocable Trusts Help You Save Money on Taxes?
In many ways, a revocable trust is the best of both worlds. The revocable trust is a non-probate asset, much like an irrevocable trust. Unlike an irrevocable trust, though, a revocable trust does not require you to make a forever decision about your money and then live to regret it. The thing that makes… Read More »
It’s Time to Make Will Attestation Parties a Thing
When you were young, friendship was beautiful and pure. The highlight of your day was riding the school bus after school, sitting next to a friend who wasn’t in any of your classes and didn’t get off the bus at the same stop as you, singing, “We Will Rock You” and laughing until you… Read More »
Don’t Forget to Write Formerly Estranged Relatives Back Into Your Will
You know you are old if, when you were a teenager, you had a poster of David Cassidy on the wall of your bedroom. Like so many child stars, Cassidy grew up to be an adult whose life has the same ups and downs as any other adult’s life does, including several marriages and… Read More »
In Praise of Trust Fund Kitties
If you want your beloved pets to benefit from your generosity after you are gone, that is your prerogative. What you do with your estate is your business. Since animals cannot be beneficiaries of a will in their own right, you will have to word your will in such a way that your pets… Read More »
