New Facebook Feature Highlights Importance of Incorporating Digital Assets Into Your Estate Plan October 5, 2017 Facebook created a feature called Legacy Contact. This feature allows people to authorize someone to access or modify their Facebook account after they pass away. The individual named as your Facebook Legacy Contact is empowered to do the following: Write a post that will display at the top of your Facebook timeline after you More
What You Need To Know About Family Trusts September 28, 2017 This estate planning vehicle, which is sometimes also known as a bypass trust or a credit shelter trust, can save literally tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. When one spouse dies, all his or her property goes tax-free to the surviving spouse, thanks to the marital deduction. Unfortunately, this transfer also means that the More
The Two Main Types Of Trusts In Washington September 18, 2017 Although some probate is almost inevitable since a court must generally approve the will for it to take legal effect, a trust can considerably streamline the process, simply because when the decedent dies, the property passes through the trust, which is not subject to a will, as opposed to the decedent’s personal estate. People wanting More
Court Cuts Off Would-Be Prince Heirs September 5, 2017 Five people who claimed to be Prince Nelson’s half-siblings have no basis for their claims, according to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The five people did not trace their lineage through John Nelson, who was married to Mattie Shaw at the time of Prince’s birth in 1958, and Carver County DIstrict Judge Kevin Eide had More
The Three Pillars of Estate Planning (And More You May Need) July 28, 2017 Over the course of a long life, every different person will acquire a different set of assets and liabilities. When it comes time to think about passing them on to family and friends after you pass on, though, there is a trifecta of instruments that do the bulk of the work. While others might be More
Healthcare Directives vs Powers of Attorney: Do I Need Both? July 18, 2017 When it comes time to plan for end-of-life measures, many people become confused about what may be needed while they are still alive, especially if they become incapacitated. Both health care directives and powers of attorney are tools that can be useful if you lose the ability to manage your own affairs and/or make your More
What Is A Special Needs Trust? July 8, 2017 Many people are unaware that disabled people are restricted by law in the amount of assets they are permitted to own. If a disabled person acquires too many assets, whether by their own work, by marriage, or some other way, they will lose their disability payments. This sounds reasonable, but in reality, SSDI payments for More
Estate Planning: How to Leave Money to Charity June 25, 2017 Many people have causes and charities that they want to continue to support after they pass away. Without these generous gifts from people like you, many charities would simply go out of business. However, surprisingly to many people, leaving assets to charity is often a complicated process. Indeed, without proper estate planning, not only might More
How Moving Out of State Could Affect Your Estate Plan June 12, 2017 Many people move to a different state at some point in their lives. In fact, according to data collected by the United States Census Bureau, 41 percent of Americans currently live in a different state than they one in which they were born. Moving out of state can affect your life in many different ways; More
Four Common Estate Planning Mistakes that You Can Avoid June 5, 2017 Many people have an urge to put off estate planning. This is certainly understandable, as the entire concept deals with some uncomfortable topics. Yet, proper estate planning is incredibly important. If you want to protect your health and well-being, protect your underage children, and have a say in what will happen to your assets after More