Estate Planning

Having a fully funded living trust is essential to taking advantage of its benefits.  An unfunded or partially funded Revocable Living Trust does not avoid probate. “Funding” your trust really means doing one of two things (1) transferring title and ownership of your assets from you to your living trust; or (2) changing your beneficiary from an individual or group of individuals to your living trust. It sounds scary, I know. [...]

Making plans for your money and property after you die is not the most exciting thing to do. It always involves thinking about circumstances that typically make you apprehensive, fearful, or uncertain. In fact, many people put-off estate planning because they do not want to deal with these difficult questions and emotions, which can have disastrous effects. Failing to plan for your estate because you are afraid of dealing with these [...]

COVID-19 has changed everything. Things we all took for granted, like school starting in the fall are now exceedingly uncertain. No one knows what the education landscape will be like in 2020-2021. Will classes continue to be online? Will colleges open and allow students on campus, or will they be bunking with mom and dad for the fall semester? Despite all the uncertainty, one certainty remains: education is still going to [...]

Many people have collections about which they are quite passionate: The collections may be very valuable, for example, art collections, coins, stamps, or designer handbags, or they may have more sentimental than monetary value, such as political bumper stickers, postcards, or rocks. Regardless of its dollar value, if you have a collection, it should be included in your estate plan. You should make arrangements in advance to ensure that the collection [...]