The 2013 report on America’s most advisor friendly trust companies was released last week.  Here is a link to the full article.  The article has a lot of informative information about working with a trust company and some of the differences of using trust companies in different states. Also, in that article is a list of […]

“We aren’t quite ready to finish our estate plan yet….” “We are waiting to finish one other thing first….” “As soon as we finish our taxes we will get it done….” “We want to see how our son behaves the next few months and then we’ll finish….” Clearly no time is “perfect” for finishing an […]

The government has come up with a “permanent” estate tax solution. Does that mean you can get rid of your family limited partnerships and LLCs? What about your irrevocable trusts? There are a lot of good reasons for them! Today we will hit on a few reasons why you should keep your family limited partnerships […]

Client’s often ignore their timeshare. They typically cost much more than they are worth but you should not ignore them when doing your planning. Failing to properly plan for your timeshare can leave your loved ones with a big pain in the neck… in addition to the ongoing maintenance fees! I deal with dozens of […]

The new toy, the new tie, the 1/2 day at the spa… they are all soon forgotten. However, do a solid estate plan and the gift will give every year for EVER and that’s a long time!  Tell your kids you have updated your estate plan and if your kids don’t have an estate plan […]

Every lawyer and every law firm does things differently in terms of charging for changes to an existing will or trust. For example, I have heard some lawyers say they will not charge for changes for life. Is that your life or their life, I wonder!? What if they retire next week? Does somebody else […]

It can be overwhelming to some to hire an attorney. They don’t even know what will happen at the first meeting. Here are some thoughts so you know what to expect. A few steps: – Pick up the phone and call us for an appointment. – We can usually get you in for an appointment […]

The folks in DC are still twiddling their thumbs, posturing, or just out playing golf!? So nothing new has developed out there and thus the fiscal cliff is coming. The loss of the greatest gift and estate tax exemption of my lifetime is about to sunset into history. Will we look back on 2011 and […]

There are a lot of great estate planning tools available to use. Clearly everybody should have a will, a financial “durable” power of attorney and a health care directive (or “living will”).  However, there are other options. Two that I particular like are the Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) and the Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust […]

Estate planning is on my brain just about 24/7 and 365. I occasionally give my brain a day off but not often. I thought today I would just post some discussion points or, to put another way, things you should be thinking about in regards to your own estate plan: – How would you like […]