A question clients often ask is, “What happens to my assets when I die?”
The answer to that popular question depends on what you do while you are alive.
When you die, your assets are essentially bulked into two general categories: (1) Non-Probate Assets; and (2) Probate Assets.
In order to determine if something is a non-probate or probate asset, you must look at the way in which the asset is owned.
It is estimated that 64% of Americans do not have a will. Some of the top reasons people give for not making a will include:
As recent celebrity deaths have shown, life can end unexpectedly in an instant. Without the proper planning, the inevitable can have many unwanted and unintended consequences for those you leave behind.
*This article has been re-posted with permission from the author Harry S. Margolis.
Whether it’s an honor or a burden (or both), you have been appointed trustee of a trust. What responsibilities have been thrust upon you? How can you successfully carry them out?
Here are some do’s and don’ts to get you started:
Many clients frequently come to me and ask if they should have a trust. Sometimes they are not even sure what a trust is and, more often than not, they do not understand how a trust works.
Although my mother always told me to never answer a question with a question (sorry mom!), my initial response is a question – what are you looking to accomplish by having a trust?
A timeshare is a property owned with others with certain rights to use the property. For example, this may be the right to use a vacation condominium one week out of the year, every year. Most timeshares are real property…
There is no question that you would do anything to protect your child. You think about his future day and night. You want to make sure that you have a proper plan in place to provide for him when you…
If you inherited a piece of real property and have, or want to sell it then you should consider the tax consequences. The sale of real property is a taxable event that must be reported on the seller’s income tax…
If you have been through a divorce and find yourself at the threshold of marriage again, before you say “I Do” there are many decisions to be made. One that shouldn’t be overlooked is modifying your estate plan. Second marriages…
We’ve all heard the phrase, “possession is nine-tenths of the law.” When it comes time to estate administration, this phrase holds particularly true. It can be very challenging to understand what assets are part of an estate, and it can be…
There is a common expression we hear a lot "penny wise and pound foolish," but we rarely hear it being used by a state supreme court justice to describe a situation that could have been avoided. Since we live in…