What Happens If My Beneficiary Dies Before Me? When planning for death, most people assume they will die before their beneficiaries (e.g., their spouse, children, and grandchildren). While these assumptions are often well-founded, they do not always come to pass. Sometimes a beneficiary of an estate or trust dies before the person leaving the inheritance. [...]
Estate Planning After Personal Injury Settlements In the hectic and sometimes dangerous world that we live in, it is an unfortunate fact of life that accidents happen and people get hurt. The U.S. legal system is designed so that those who suffer injury through the avoidable fault of others can seek compensation for those injuries. [...]
Snowbirds: What You Need to Know about Renting Out Your Property Retreating to a warmer climate for the winter sounds like an ideal way to spend a few months. To help make this dream a reality, some individuals choose to rent out their second homes when they are not in use. But before you list [...]
Considerations Before Heading South for the Winter For many snowbirds, cooler weather means it is time to head south. If you are thinking about heading for warmer weather this winter, there are a few things you should consider before hitting the road. What is happening in your destination state? Because we are still in the [...]
Why Your Heirs or Beneficiaries May Receive a Smaller Inheritance Than You Thought Although it is rare for anyone to look forward to the passing of a loved one, many people cannot help wondering about a future inheritance. Often when a person dies and leaves money or property to heirs or beneficiaries, the first thing [...]
Seven Ways to Avoid Family Fights over Your Property Ask a group of friends if they have experienced a family fight over a property after a loved one has died, and you will be in for a lively and eye-opening conversation. Far too many families end up fighting, or at least experiencing tension, over a [...]
How Do I Donate My Organs When I Die? Thinking about what will happen to your body when you pass away is probably not what you would like to do with your spare time. However, if you want to donate your organs when you die, you must think about precisely what you want and communicate [...]
Avoiding Financial Grief: How to Protect Your Significant Other from Frozen Accounts The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult times in a person’s life. Nothing can truly prepare a person for such a loss. However, dealing with the financial stress of frozen bank accounts can exacerbate the stress. Without proper [...]
Help! I’ve Been Named as a Guardian. What Do I Do? A guardian is an individual who cares for someone, often a minor child, who needs special protection. Parents can nominate a guardian in their will, but typically a court must confirm and officially appoint the guardian after both parents have passed away. Sometimes the [...]
Sandwich Generation Month: Considerations When Caring for Both Children and Parents July is National Sandwich Generation Month, a time to honor those who are caring for both their children and their aging parents. This topic is particularly germane at present, as many parents are not only parenting their children but have also spent the last [...]
