Probate

How to Deal With Estate Litigation

Death is just the beginning. When a loved one passes, navigating through the probate process can dredge up unresolved emotions and family conflicts, all intensified by grief. As survivors find themselves rehashing the past, the settlement of probate can ignite long-buried resentments. If the parties have been looking for a fight for years, probate unleashes […]

African American couple signing documents

Managing an Estate During Probate

Executors have a high level of responsibility for as long as the probate process drags on — which can even be years in some cases. Your main objective? Prevent estate assets from being damaged or depreciated. You must make decisions based on the best interests of beneficiaries and creditors. Any investments you make should be […]

How to Value Items When Someone Passes

If you’re the executor of an estate, part of your job is to oversee the valuation of assets. Finding out how much the estate is worth and how that value is distributed will determine your approach to probate, the allocation of the assets among the heirs and how much the estate will pay in taxes. […]

How To Divide Possessions Among Heirs

We like to imagine that a death brings families together in grief, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes, the daughter of the deceased will announce that her mother had promised her the picture that always hung on the living room wall, but then the son pipes up that the picture was promised to him. […]

municipal bonds sign with hundred dollar bills

Tax-Free Municipal Bonds: Worth It?

Municipal bonds are stable, income-producing vehicles that are used to fund local and state government projects, such as buildings and highways. They are also tax free at the federal level. Are they right for you? What else should you be weighing in your decision about whether to invest in tax-free municipal bonds? How they work […]

What to Know About Organ Donation

You may need an organ transplant if one of your organs fails or is damaged by disease or injury. In an organ transplant, doctors remove an organ from another person and place it in your body. Doctors must specifically match donors to recipients to reduce the risk of transplant rejection, which can happen if your […]

How to be an Executor

If you are named the executor or personal representative in a Last Will and Testament, you will be the final administrator of a deceased person’s estate and have many details to manage. The following estate executor checklist can help you more easily navigate the process while making sure none of your duties slip through the […]

No-Contest Clauses and How They Work

Contesting a Will is not just the stuff of TV melodramas — it happens in real life. After you are gone, if a family member believes you didn’t have the requisite mental capacity to execute your Will, that someone exerted undue influence over you, that someone committed fraud, or that the Will wasn’t executed properly, that person […]

digital representation of documents connected in the cloud

Digital Records and Your Privacy

The rights to access digital assets are scattered through a web of user agreements and federal and state laws. The law protects both a fiduciary’s right to access and the decedent’s privacy. Digital assets include: Electronic communications — emails, social networking sites and blogs. Online reward programs. Financial accounts. Documents stored in the cloud. Income-generating […]

How to Choose a Guardian for Your Child

Appointing a guardian for your children might seem morbid. If you’re a healthy person who doesn’t work a dangerous job, it may also strike you as unnecessary, since your decision usually only matters if you die or become disabled before your child’s 18th birthday. But estate planning is all about hoping for the best and preparing […]