Estate planning

For most parents, children will be the main beneficiaries when they put together their estate plans. Young children will require help if their parents die before they become adults. Many parents still want their children to receive most of their assets even when they...

Older adults sometimes have a false sense of security when it comes to their estate plans. Especially if they created documents earlier in life, they probably assume that the people they love will have support and will be able to carry out their last wishes. However,...

Maintaining a professional appearance and household can be very expensive. You may require revolving credits just to cover your cost of living expenses. Whether you have credit cards or take out personal loans, those unsecured debts will require repayment. Your debt...

There are numerous ways to arrange for property to go to specific people when you die. Moving assets into a trust is one solution. Bequeathing them to someone in a will is another common arrangement. However, the transfer of property in your will requires that it...

A right of survivorship is an important method for passing the title of your property on to joint tenants if one dies. Many people opt to use a right of survivorship rather than a simple will to pass on property because it is more difficult to contest. Survivorship...

Many adult children and other beneficiaries of estates don’t know what they should expect when a parent or loved one passes away. The problem with them not knowing what to expect is that they may be caught off-guard by one person receiving a large inheritance or...

As you help your parents with their estate planning, they may express to you a wish to avoid probate. The first thing to do is to consider the size of their estate. For smaller estates that have less than $100,000 in real estate or less than $75,000 overall, probate...

Bringing up your parents' estate plan may have seemed unnecessary to you for years. However, watching a co-worker muddle through intestate probate proceedings because their mother didn't leave a will might motivate you. Now you know you need to talk to your parents...

When you create an estate plan, you decide what legacy you leave behind when you die. Typically, people worry about providing for their loved ones and fairly distributing their assets. A will or estate plan outlines your last wishes and describes what should happen to...

You need information about many different matters to craft your estate plan. You need up-to-date information about your assets and debts. You also need to understand the relationships you have with the people you love and that they have with one another. Estate...