Many adults have financial accounts that they want to pass down to their loved ones. You may assume that this will be complicated, but it isn’t. Most people get these accounts into the hands of their loved ones through the use of a Totten trust. While it’s called a...
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Estate Planning & Probate
Why leaving your house to the kids could be problematic
If you only have one child, leaving them the house and everything else you own is simple. If you have more than one child, things get complicated. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind as you proceed with your estate plans: Estate planning requires you to...
What happens to your debts when you die?
Your personal wealth includes all of your property and assets, while your financial obligations or liabilities include your debt and recurring bills. Many people put a lot of consideration into what happens to their property when they die but very little thought about...
Why do people fight over wills?
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,...
How do you know if you should contest a 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...
The majority of people have not done their estate planning
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...
You don’t want to be the one to lose the family farm
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...
3 times you may need to go to court over an estate conflict
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,...
Do I need to include a trust in my estate plan?
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...
If you have children, you need an estate plan to protect them
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...