Deeper Dive into Advance Healthcare Directives When it comes to your healthcare, especially during these uncertain times, you need to ensure that two estate planning documents, in particular, are up to date. The first is your healthcare power of attorney. This document allows you to name a person to make medical decisions on your behalf [...]
What Happens If My Beneficiary Dies Before Me? When planning for death, most people assume they will die before their beneficiaries (e.g., their spouse, children, and grandchildren). While these assumptions are often well-founded, they do not always come to pass. Sometimes a beneficiary of an estate or trust dies before the person leaving the inheritance. [...]
Disaster Preparedness Month: How to Prepare for Whatever May Come Your Way The unpredictable can occur at any time: fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, pandemics—you name it. Because September is National Disaster Preparedness Month, we want you to be prepared for whatever life throws at you. Although none of us can predict the future, there are [...]
Estate Planning After Personal Injury Settlements In the hectic and sometimes dangerous world that we live in, it is an unfortunate fact of life that accidents happen and people get hurt. The U.S. legal system is designed so that those who suffer injury through the avoidable fault of others can seek compensation for those injuries. [...]
Snowbirds: What You Need to Know about Renting Out Your Property Retreating to a warmer climate for the winter sounds like an ideal way to spend a few months. To help make this dream a reality, some individuals choose to rent out their second homes when they are not in use. But before you list [...]
Considerations Before Heading South for the Winter For many snowbirds, cooler weather means it is time to head south. If you are thinking about heading for warmer weather this winter, there are a few things you should consider before hitting the road. What is happening in your destination state? Because we are still in the [...]
Why Your Heirs or Beneficiaries May Receive a Smaller Inheritance Than You Thought Although it is rare for anyone to look forward to the passing of a loved one, many people cannot help wondering about a future inheritance. Often when a person dies and leaves money or property to heirs or beneficiaries, the first thing [...]
Seven Ways to Avoid Family Fights over Your Property Ask a group of friends if they have experienced a family fight over a property after a loved one has died, and you will be in for a lively and eye-opening conversation. Far too many families end up fighting, or at least experiencing tension, over a [...]
How Do I Donate My Organs When I Die? Thinking about what will happen to your body when you pass away is probably not what you would like to do with your spare time. However, if you want to donate your organs when you die, you must think about precisely what you want and communicate [...]
Avoiding Financial Grief: How to Protect Your Significant Other from Frozen Accounts The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult times in a person’s life. Nothing can truly prepare a person for such a loss. However, dealing with the financial stress of frozen bank accounts can exacerbate the stress. Without proper [...]
