The Most Important Part of Your Estate Plan

What is the most important component of an estate plan? This is a question that comes up a lot in our practice, and as you might guess, different families will have different answers.   The Trust: Many families feel that this is the heart of the estate plan, and as such the most important part. … Read More »

Be Prepared

As an estate planning firm it is our job to keep our clients prepared for what’s coming. This means helping prepare them not only for the eventuality of death, but also for what is coming in life; retirement, the possibility of divorce, new children or grandchildren, and even taxes. Estate taxes especially are of great… Read More »

Help for Growing Old Gracefully and Peacefully

There is a saying that goes something along the lines of “the only thing worse than getting old is the alternative,” which is said to express pretty well the dismay, betrayal, confusion and sometimes horror that go along with the aging process. Americans are living longer than ever—which really means that there are more opportunities… Read More »

Should You Share Your Estate Plan With Your Heirs?

If you have a significant estate to leave to your heirs—but you are still alive and well—to whom does that significant estate belong, you or them? This seems a silly question:   of course the property belongs to you, but many adult children have come to count on the property their parents will leave them, and—rightly… Read More »

Organize Your Estate for Your Successor Trustee

If you’ve ever been unlucky enough to have to execute a deceased loved one’s estate, then you know what an overwhelming job it can be.  Think about your own method of organization.  Do you keep all of your financial papers in one place?  Do you keep your birth and marriage certificates nearby and easily accessible? … Read More »

The Sleepy Field of Estate Planning—Until Now

When people think of lawyers they usually think of the fast-paced lives of the characters in John Grisham’s legal dramas, or maybe the dramatic and exciting courtroom scenes from the movie A Few Good Men. But Estate Planning Law has never been like that. Estate Planning has always been a calm and sedate area of… Read More »

Choosing A Fiduciary: Some Special Thoughts

Choosing your fiduciaries can be one of the most difficult parts of creating your estate plan, especially choosing trustees for your trust, which, depending on the circumstances, you may hope will be in existence for quite a long time. Most people’s first instinct is to choose a family member, someone they know and trust, perhaps… Read More »