Estate planning is about protecting you and your loved ones. Sometimes this can be a difficult endeavor when there is a loved one who may require additional support at your death. While you may want to give as much as possible to this individual, you may not want to do so at the expense of others […]
According to the National Association of Home Builders, in 2018 there were approximately 7.5 million second homes, making up 5.5 percent of the total number of homes.[1] These pieces of vacation property are not only real estate that must be planned for, managed, and maintained, they are also the birthplace of happy memories for you and […]
Although the word “inheritance” usually conjures up images of property or accounts with significant monetary value, you can leave your family an even longer-lasting inheritance by doing these seven things, even if you don’t have a lot of money. Make a Plan Often, people who do not have a lot of money think that it is […]
Meat Loaf, whose real name was Michael Lee Aday, passed away earlier this year at the age of seventy-four. The singer behind 1977’s Bat Out of Hell—one of the best-selling albums of all time—experienced ups and downs befitting his larger-than-life persona. He hit bottom with his 1983 bankruptcy but rode a 1990s career rebirth to newfound […]
The American Dream envisions home ownership for everyone. And most of us save for this purchase with the thought of passing it on to our families one day. But questions about ownership and how it’s passed on are pretty common. Questions like, “If I give my home to my child in my will, can they take […]
Divorce is more common now than it was in the past, as is remarriage. Depending on how long a prior marriage lasted, the former couple may have done a certain amount of estate planning together. When that is the case, it is important to understand how a subsequent marriage can impact the estate planning from a […]
According to a 2019 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 7 percent of surveyed adults were living with an unmarried partner, up from 3 percent in 1995.[1] More people such as yourself are entering long-term committed relationships without getting married. Unfortunately, many state and federal laws do not protect unmarried couples as they do married […]
One thing which will virtually guarantee your estate will go through probate is real property. That’s right, if you own your home in your name individually (meaning you have not created an entity like a trust or LLC, and have not transferred the property’s title to that entity), then your estate will need to go through […]
When using trusts in estate planning, a key element includes transferring the trustmaker’s real estate into the trust by recording a real estate deed with the local recording authority. This step is crucial for ensuring that the trustee has the authority to manage and ultimately sell or transfer the property should the trustmaker become incapacitated or […]
Do you really own the home you live in? If you are currently living in a property that you inherited, but the deed has not been transferred into your name, you may be surprised to learn that, under the law, you are technically not the owner. This legal situation is known as “tangled title.” A tangled title […]
