Many people associate spring with cleaning out the old, brushing off the dirt accumulated from the long winter, cleaning out their closets, and starting projects around the house that have been neglected for far too long. Perhaps, however, your home is fine as is and there’s something else that needs to be updated this summer. Estate […]
According to a 2019 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 7 percent of surveyed adults were living with an unmarried partner. This number is up from 3 percent in 1995.[1] More people, such as yourself, are entering long-term committed relationships without getting married. Unfortunately for unmarried partners, married couples tend to enjoy greater protection from […]
While watching a movie or reading a book about wealthy individuals and their families, you may have come across terms such as “heir,” “descendant,” and “next of kin.” Though made-for-Hollywood storylines use these terms interchangeably, words describing familial relationships have distinct definitions. Using the correct terms is critical in wills, trusts, and other legal documents because […]
One common storyline in Hollywood movies is the rich father disinheriting the family outcast. The story usually traces a child’s attempts to win their family back. But can fiction imitate reality? Can you actually disinherit a child? In most circumstances, the answer is yes you can disinherit a child in most states. However, you must understand […]
When reading through a will or trust agreement, you may see language that grants a right to an individual to purchase certain property from the estate or trust at “fair market value.” At first glance, this phrase may seem a perfectly reasonable method of setting a suitable purchase price for a property to be sold. But […]
Do you have an individual retirement account or other type of retirement account that you plan to leave to your loved ones? If so, proceed with caution! Inherited retirement accounts do not have asset protection when they pass to your loved ones, meaning creditors can seize the money in the accounts to satisfy any claims against […]
Your retirement account provides asset protection during your lifetime, but as soon as you pass that account to a loved one, that protection evaporates. When a loved one inherits your retirement account, creditors can seize it and use the funds to satisfy their claims. All it takes is one lawsuit and your life savings could be […]
Although spouses receive special treatment when inheriting a retirement account such as an IRA (the ability to roll over the account into a personal retirement account and to stretch the distributions over their lifetime), the retirement account you leave for your spouse can still be seized in a divorce, a lawsuit, or a bankruptcy proceeding. It […]
