Estate Planning & Probate

Your parents built up their estate over the course of their lifetime. They want their assets to secure the future of their friends and family. They made all the preparations for their estate’s distribution.  When the time finally comes for the reading of the will,...

When a loved one passes away and has an estate plan, they’ve taken the time to dictate who should get what. Most wills are handled without any issues and everyone gets what the decedent wanted them to have.  Unfortunately, there are some cases in which the will isn’t...

Have you done your estate planning yet? If not, you may be thinking about the importance of doing it in the future. This puts you in fairly good company. Most people in the United States have also not done their estate planning, even though they do know that it is...

When you grow up on a family-owned farm, you learn to live in sync with the hours of the day and the seasons of the year. Depending on what you raise or grow, you count on annual harvests that will either make or break the family’s fortune for that year. When you have...

When someone plans their estate, they probably hope to keep their assets out of probate court. However, there may be situations in which you as a beneficiary need to involve the probate courts to uphold the wishes of a deceased individual. Estate administration is,...

Most people use their last will and testament to pass on assets to their designated heirs after they die. Some also opt for using a trust to pass on assets and other valuables. Basically, a trust is a legal arrangement in which you can place your possessions so they...

Young children are completely dependent on their parents. Even teenagers and college students often need financial, practical, and emotional support from their parents. If anything happens to you, your children will be in a particularly vulnerable position. As soon as...

It's not uncommon for the breadwinner of the family to carry a significant burden on their shoulders. They often worry about how their heirs will continue to thrive without them once they're gone.  It can be particularly important for a testator to have the comfort in...

The loss of a loved one, especially a parent, is difficult for anyone. Even more difficult is if there are disagreements or arguments regarding the distribution of the deceased’s property and money. For many people, they become an heir when a parent dies. The death of...

A valuable tool available in composing a well-thought-out estate plan is the use of lifetime transfers or gifts. Gifts that can be made during your lifetime are called “inter vivos” transfers. Inter vivos gifts have many advantages.  Some of the advantages include...