Estate Planning

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What It Means To Die Intestate

Did a close relative die and not leave a will? You will face some complexities, but you can get through them if you know the rules. How will the estate be distributed in the absence of a will? To start with, many assets are not passed by will, such as: Life insurance proceeds. Real estate, […]

New Marriage or Partnership? It’s Time to Update Your Estate Plan

Gerry Turner, the first “Golden Bachelor, ”a widower, and his wife, Theresa Nist, a widow, started divorce proceedings just three months after their televised wedding. Their marriage and subsequent divorce emphasize the importance of estate planning in remarriages or domestic partnerships where one or both partners was previously in a committed relationship. Previous relationships […]

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Estate and Gift Tax Planning and the TCJA

It is somewhat unusual to highlight 2026 taxes in 2024, but we are in an unusual situation: Many of the provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress acts to extend them. Taxpayers need to be aware of how they will be affected so they can […]

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Estate Planning for Blended Families

Estate planning can be more complicated for blended families than for traditional families. Entering into a new marriage when one or both new spouses have children from a previous relationship poses its own unique challenges, and it is important to consider what will happen if either of you pass away. An estate planning attorney can […]

Considerations When Choosing Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries are a crucial part of your estate plan. They are the people or organizations that will ultimately benefit from your estate when you pass away. Your beneficiaries can receive money or anything else you pass down to them, such as Social Security disability, savings and checking accounts, life insurance policies, retirement plans, and […]

Contesting a Will

When you hear about wills being contested, you may initially think of famous families involved in legal battles over the validity of a will. However, there are various reasons why a will may be challenged, and not all of them involve family disputes. Contesting a will may be necessary if you suspect that it […]

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Building Long-Term Wealth with Your Home

Real estate is one of the largest assets people own. Real estate tends to appreciate over time, so with care, home equity can be the foundation for your family’s fortunes, resulting in profits that can affect your children’s and grandchildren’s wealth. Owning real estate can put you on a path to growing generational assets. […]

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Heirs and Contingent Beneficiaries

When the Titanic went down in 1912, several women chose to remain on board with their husbands. One was Ida Straus, whose family co-owned Macy’s Department Store. Although Titanic-scale disasters are extraordinarily rare, you should nevertheless include a contingency beneficiary in your will or trust in case life or death serves up something unexpected. […]

Grandchildren, Trusts, and Estate Planning

One of the most preferable ways of leaving assets behind for your grandchildren is to name them as beneficiaries in your will or a trust. Trusts are useful because they make it possible for you to control your assets even after your die. Through a trust, you can state how you want the money […]

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Considerations When Inheriting a House

Inheriting property is commonplace. Your parents or other family member may have left you a home or a piece of land in their Will. Now that you own this new place, what are the right steps to ensure that everything is properly taken care of? Talk to a tax professional. The best thing you can […]