Trusts

Say that you're the only grandchild of grandparents who absolutely dote on you and have always contributed to your life in meaningful ways. They were around when you were a kid, helped finance your college studies, beamed at your wedding and now lavish attention on...

The careful crafting and funding of one or more trusts can bring about substantial benefits to a family engaged in estate planning, especially so-called "high-net-worth" families.Many people who are first learning about trusts are often surprised about the number and...

Although parents and children might enjoy a healthy political debate, using inheritance money to donate to opposing political causes might be pushing the limit. Are there estate-planning strategies by which parents can influence how heirs spend their inheritance?As a...

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision on same-sex marriage has increased the estate-planning options available to same-sex couples. Yet what about those in a committed relationship who don’t yet want to tie the knot?A recent article reminds us that unmarried gay...

In past blog posts we have discussed how to choose the right person to be the trustee of your trust. A trustee is responsible for managing a trust according to its terms and in the best interests of its beneficiaries. While most appointed trustees are able to fulfill...

A recent decision by a California Court of Appeals may impact how individuals fund their revocable trusts.The case involved a settlor who stated in his revocable trust instrument that he wanted to fund it with all of his real and personal property. The man was also...

In a previous post we offered several tips for choosing a trustee. That, in turn, warrants a discussion of some of the more common trusts for which the attorneys in our estate-planning practice get requests.Readers may have heard of the potential tax-saving advantages...

There's no question that it can be uncomfortable to consider the prospect of your untimely passing. In fact, it's this discomfort that leads so many people to postpone or even avoid estate planning altogether.As we've discussed on our blog, there are a multitude of...

Insurance contracts, like annuities or life insurance, offer great flexibility for individuals considering an estate plan.For starters, the beneficiary does not have to be a person. By naming a trust as the beneficiary, an individual can have greater control over how...

Readers of this estate planning blog probably assume that trusts are created with human beneficiaries in mind. But that’s not always the case, as in charitable giving.One way to include charitable giving in an estate plan is through the creation of a charitable...