Whether you live in Pennsylvania or another part of the country, you probably want to put your assets and money to the best use, both while you are living and after your death. Trusts, often overlooked, are one of the best ways to not only protect your assets, but to...
Your Lawyers For Life
Year: 2014
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the best beneficiary of them all? p2
We are fully recovered from Thanksgiving and we are ready to circle back to our Nov. 20 post about naming beneficiaries for retirement accounts. Completing that one form can make the world of difference to your heirs. Making a mistake on the form or altogether...
Estate planning for non-traditional family groups
In today's society, there are very few Pennsylvania families that fit the traditional mold. In fact, the very idea of the "traditional" family is being redefined, as people form connections that create an intricate web of loved ones. However, when it comes to estate...
The usefulness of trusts in estate planning
Exemptions for federal estate taxes continue to rise to the point that they are not an issue for most middle-to-upper-income people who plan to leave money to their heirs. Nevertheless, federal estate tax still represents a very big problem for...
What happens to my assets if I don’t leave a will?
Thinking about your own death can be a scary thing for most people. Because of its finality, a lot of people try to avoid thinking about it until the very last minute. This can sometimes mean though that people will put off handling many of the end-of-life things that...
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the best beneficiary of them all?
We often encourage people to review their beneficiary forms to make sure the right people are named and all of their personal information is as current as possible. Just remember that a life insurance policy is not the only piece of your estate that has a beneficiary:...
Administering an estate? You don’t have to do it alone
If you have been named as executor to the estate of a friend or family member, then you're undoubtedly going through a range of emotions while also dealing with estate administration. This is an understandably difficult time, and it is a good idea to have a lawyer to...
Thinking about common estate planning mistakes
Any number of life events can get individuals thinking about the end of life. Illness, the death of a loved one, marriage, the birth of a child and even the holiday season can be triggers that inspire individuals to begin estate planning. Estate planning is a critical...
Trusts, estates, tax laws – what are we doing here?
We have covered a lot of territory in the last few months. Powers of attorney, trusts, estate planning mistakes and strategies -- all good information, if we do say so ourselves. All of these subjects are good topics for conversations with an estate planning attorney,...
Is your estate plan as good as it’ll get?
We were talking about the basics of estate planning in our last post, especially how difficult some of the decisions can be. For instance, with a durable power of attorney, you will have to figure out who should take on the responsibility of looking after your affairs...