Estate Administration & Probate

Children with special needs require additional planning and care. Special needs children often require expensive care for the rest of their lives. Many parents may think that it will be beneficial to simply leave inheritance in their will to their child....

Readers of this blog have been advised to keep their estate plans current. Life events may result in changed circumstances that make existing provisions in a will or trust obsolete.Take the example of moving to another state. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, this...

For individuals who want to avoid the public disclosure, administrative hassle and cost of probate, it can be important to understand what types of property are considered non-probate assets.Perhaps the most common strategy for avoiding probate is a trust. Any assets...

Beneficiaries of a will or trust might be surprised by the bequests left to them. But what happens when that initial surprise wears off? A legal challenge to a will or trust might be one outcome. Can a grantor take proactive measures to minimize the risk of an...

Estate planning is important for everyone, but for families with a small business, there are extra considerations.As a practical matter, a small business owner’s wealth is probably tied up in the business. As a result, a business owner needs to have a plan for...

Although readers may understand that life insurance proceeds generally count toward an estate’s valuation, they may not realize the privacy implications. To protect an estate’s privacy, an attorney that focuses on estate planning might recommend naming a trust as the...