The Clayton Election & Marital Disclaimers: Estate Tax Planning Essentials Know Which One Is Better For Your Estate Plan Deferring, minimizing, or avoiding estate taxes altogether is often an important estate planning goal for married couples. However, uncertainty surrounding what the estate tax laws and the value of their accounts and property will be at [...]

Springing Financial Powers Of Attorney: What Is It & How Does It Work? What If Something Goes Wrong While You Are Alive? The Importance Of a Springing Financial POA Estate planning is about more than preparing for the inevitable. A good estate plan should also consider the unexpected. Your plan may have detailed instructions for [...]

What Is a Statement Of Intent & Why Is It Critical For Your Estate Plan? Two Different Ways Of Documenting a Trustmaker's Intent The reasons you, as a trustmaker, create a trust are certainly special and important to you, but your intent or purpose for creating a trust can also have significant legal ramifications. For [...]

How The FAFSA Form Changes Impacts Grandparents FAFSA Updates: In What Way Could Affect Grandparents 529 Plans To Fund Their Grandchild’s Education? For grandparents who want to leave a legacy to their grandchildren, the gift of a 529 college savings plan is an option. Not only can opening a 529 plan account help a grandchild [...]

Why You Should Consider Making An Estate Plan After Filing For Bankruptcy Estate Planning: An Effective Way To Protect Your Assets When You File For Bankruptcy   Bankruptcy can be incredibly stressful for anyone to go through. Once your matter has been closed, you may wonder what the next steps are. To ensure that you [...]

How Does Bankruptcy Typically Affect Estate Planning & Inheritance? Filing Bankruptcy & Its Consequences On Estate Planning Bankruptcy may be one of the last things on your mind when you are creating an estate plan. Fortunately, the number of bankruptcy filings has declined over the past several years, but there were still a whopping 544,463 [...]

An Essential Guide To QTIP Trusts In Estate Planning Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trusts: Benefits, Definition, & When To Use One What Is a Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) Trust A qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust is an estate planning tool that married couples can use to minimize uncertainty about the future and maximize [...]

Pour-Over Wills Explained: The Perfect Addition To a Trust-Based Estate Plan Pour-Over Wills Are Used To Ensure Every Asset In Your Estate Is Protected Wills and trusts are the two basic legal instruments that people use to pass accounts and property on to their loved ones at death. Although a revocable living trust is often [...]

The Important Role Of Real Estate Deeds In Estate Planning The Different Types Of Real Estate Deeds & Why You Might Want To Use Them When using trusts in estate planning, a key element includes transferring the trustmaker’s real estate into the trust by recording a deed with the local recording authority. This step is [...]

5 Estate Planning Tips For Cross-Border Families A Complete Guide To International Estate Planning   1. Consider Using Multiple Wills Or An International Will In the United States, modern estate planning often centers around the use of a Revocable Living Trust (“RLT”), but in many other jurisdictions the use of an American RLT can create [...]