Category Archives: Estate Planning
Estate Planning for the Recently Divorced
If you made an estate plan in which you provided generously for your spouse, or one in which you and your spouse mutually agreed to leave more assets to your children from previous marriages than to each other, the news that your spouse wants a divorce probably upends your world even more than it… Read More »
Incentive Trusts: Proceed with Caution
You love your children, but they are terrible at managing money. When they were little, you dreamed of the day when they would be financially independent, but now that you are thinking about estate planning, you are starting to realize that the money you planned to leave to your children will be gone in… Read More »
Challenging a Will Because of a Testator’s Loss of Mental Faculties
It is hard to talk to your parents about their inevitable illness and death, even while they are healthy, even when you are just speaking in terms of hypothetical ways that their final years might play out. It is even more difficult when their health is already fragile or they are already suffering from… Read More »
Should You Open a Payable on Death Bank Account?
A payable on death (POD) bank account is one that is earmarked, from the beginning, to stay out of probate. “Payable on death” means that, immediately upon the death of the original owner, the beneficiary becomes the new owner of the account and all the money in it. Does it sound too good to… Read More »
Single Parents Cannot Afford to Wait to Start Estate Planning
If you are a single parent, it probably makes your blood boil when your married friends talk about how unhelpful their spouses are. They might say that they feel like single parents, but they have no idea what it is like when you really are single, and you have to take on 100 percent… Read More »
How to Keep Almost Any Asset Out of Probate in the District of Columbia
If a person dies without a will (the legal term for “without a will” is “intestate”), then the court gets involved in passing the person’s assets on to the person’s close relatives. If the person does leave a will, then the court still gets involved. The court must honor the deceased person’s wishes about… Read More »
Reasons to Start Your Washington DC Estate Plan Early
There’s a common misconception that estate planning isn’t something to think about until you are nearing retirement age, or until you have amassed a large asset portfolio. That couldn’t be further from the truth. While you don’t want to think about something tragic happening, what if you were in a horrible car accident in… Read More »
What is a Washington DC Life Insurance Trust?
In general, a trust is a financial entity you create in order to put money or assets aside to be managed, distributed, or invested by the person or entity overseeing the trust, known as the trustee. Individual or asset management companies can be a trustee. A life insurance trust is a trust that allows… Read More »
What a Washington DC Estate Planning Attorney Can Do for You
No matter your situation, it’s important that you plan ahead and start thinking about preserving your legacy. Some people mistakenly assume that there is no need for an estate planning attorney if you have a small asset portfolio. In truth, some of the biggest disputes and issues can arise with smaller, seemingly non-complex estates…. Read More »
What is a Durable Power of Attorney?
Have you been asked to sign a durable power of attorney? How does a durable power of attorney differ from a standard power of attorney? It’s important to understand how these power of attorney documents differ. It’s recommended you speak with a Washington DC estate planning attorney prior to allowing someone else to act… Read More »
