Estate planning is as much about choosing the right people to manage someone’s interests as it is about providing instructions regarding the distribution of one's property. In fact, both the living documents and testamentary documents included in an estate plan...
Estate Planning
3 kinds of digital assets people need to add to estate plans
Assets with financial value and also emotional significance to beneficiaries and the testator often become the focal point of estate planning efforts. Frequently, testators prioritize physical property and may overlook the digital assets that they have accumulated...
The need to continually update estate plans
An estate plan is not the final say but a living document that requires revisiting based on certain circumstances. Some experts believe that revisiting the paperwork should occur every three years or as certain circumstances require. Remembering to revise documents...
How life insurance can influence a new parent’s estate plan
Adding a child to a family often means drastically changing the household's budget and lifestyle. Whether a young child is the first in the family or the third, they will have financial and care needs that their parents must address. Parents often structure their...
Estate planning: Thoughtful approaches can give you peace of mind
Estate planning is not just for the wealthy. It is an essential process that ensures that someone’s assets and affairs are managed according to their wishes during and after their lifetime. It is also a way of ensuring that someone’s loved ones are taken care of after...
When does a power of attorney go into effect?
When someone creates a power of attorney, this effort grants another individual the ability to make decisions on their behalf under specific circumstances. These could be financial decisions, such as giving that person authority to make decisions on behalf of their...
When does someone in New York have the capacity to draft a will?
The decision to draft an estate plan gives someone control over their legacy and also helps them to protect their interests in the event of a medical emergency that results in medical incapacitation. However, not everyone in New York can create estate planning...
The major downsides of not making an estate plan
Not making an estate plan in advance can have some very serious consequences for your family. This is problematic because statistics show that most people have not yet done their estate planning. That means their families could face a litany of issues that could’ve...
Is it fair to leave your children different amounts in your will?
When you’re the parent of adult children who have very different personalities, experiences and needs, trying to divide your estate in your will amongst your heirs fairly can produce a lot of angst – because you know that “fair” and “equal” aren’t always the same...
How to create and preserve a meaningful family legacy
Family legacies can come in many forms. For those with ties to the land, a legacy might involve running a ranch or creating a public park with family lands. For others with an entrepreneurial spirit, a family legacy might involve a company that is run and owned by...