Estate Planning

For many people, IRAs are the major assets of their estate. Yet many of my clients are unsure how to protect this asset for the benefit of their families. Check…

Do you know that April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day? It's not a national holiday but it is an important occasion where preparing your advance health care directive is…

Many times when new clients call my office, they know they need legal help planning for their heirs, but really have no idea where to start. The legal profession, like…

In a previous post "'Til Death Do Us Part," we looked at the importance of estate planning, with a special emphasis on blended families. This follow-up post focuses on property…

Pack the ICE!?! What I mean is that when you or your children travel, you should be sure to have your "In Case of Emergency" information organized and easily available.…

I like a bargain just like anyone else. I hate to think I'm paying more for something than I really need to. So I am sympathetic but also concerned when…

Recently, I tackled the realities of estate planning after a divorce, especially where one or both parties have remarried. It can be tricky to make sure your assets go where…

Even if you are divorced, those words may still be more true than you realize. Divorce may uncouple you, but in most states, it does not automatically revoke beneficiary designations…

Safety Deposit Box We've all watched the scene in a movie where the family goes to the bank to open their dear departed loved one's safety deposit box. The will…

We've all experienced it. Our computer crashes and we lose access to our "electronic" life. Usually we are inconvenienced for a few hours or perhaps days. Sometimes we have to…

It's important to arrange for someone to care for your pet(s) and to specify that in your estate plan. Sadly, a significant number of domestic pets are unwittingly condemned to…

A colleague asked me to write a post on the different ways to hold title to real estate. The nature of your assets and how you hold title to those…

I am writing this post on Martin Luther King Day. I think about his courage, his character, his commitment to a greater purpose. Few of us can hope to achieve…

When you are interviewing estate planning attorneys, you might want to ask these questions: How responsive are you to your clients? What is your response time? Are you a licensed…

Happy Holidays! I hope that the New Year will bring you much joy and happiness! One of your goals in the New Year is probably to get your estate plan…

I hear it so often: "I know I should do an estate plan, but I just can't bear to think about what would happen to my children if I died.…

We think that leaving a legacy is only for the wealthy or the old. We think that it's about leaving a whole bunch of money behind. But it's about much…

This may become a series of blogs on this topic as I think that there are many emotional barriers we have to estate planning. One of the common responses I…

A client of mine once told me: "You have stuff. You will Die. Someone will take your stuff." Now, after you're gone, you really won't be in a position to…

A lot of people ask me when they should do their estate plan.  I tell them to do it now or as soon as possible. I received a spam e-mail…

I am an estate planning lawyer and it's my job to tell people to do their estate plan. But it goes much deeper than it's just my job. My mother…

I can't stress enough how important it is to have an estate plan.  You need to protect your hard-earned assets, yourself, and your loved ones.   What happens if you don't…

When people ask me what I do, I tell them that I am an estate planning attorney. I do wills, trusts and probate law. Here are some ways to think…