Using Transfer-on-Death Deeds to Avoid Probate

Person with stack of papers on clipboards

When it comes to planning your estate, you naturally want to make things as easy as possible for your beneficiaries. The last thing you want is for your property to get hung up in probate while your loved ones wait to receive their inheritance. When you Will your property to your beneficiaries, though, this is…

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Family Conversations About Your Estate Plan

Big diverse family celebrating christmas, talking, eating traditional winter holiday food at festive dinner table at home party. Xmas celebration at beautiful decorated place

With holidays upon us, you’ve got a lot on your mind, right? Turkeys and ham don’t make themselves, and the longer you put off gift shopping, the more stressful that affair becomes. And then, of course, the house needs to be cleaned, family visits need to be scheduled, Christmas lights need to go up, and…

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If Only Anne Heche Had Drafted an Estate Plan…

Anne Heche was an Emmy award-winning actress, well-known for her roles in such blockbuster hits as Donnie Brasco and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Well, we know what Heche didn’t do last summer: draft an estate plan. The actress lost her life in a car crash in August, 2022…leaving behind two sons, a…

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Don’t DIY It: Why Online Wills and Trusts Might Not Hold Up

Person using drill to screw in wood

In recent years, it seems like DIY estate planning services are popping up everywhere. These providers allow you to prepare your Wills and Trusts online at a considerably lower cost than it would take to hire an estate planning attorney. Sounds great, right? Then, let’s consider the old adage “you get what you pay for”.…

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This is So Unfair: Let’s Talk About Unequal Inheritance

animated figures holding different amounts of money bags

Fair doesn’t always mean equal. If you’re out for dinner with your kids aged two and ten, you’re not going to order them the same meal. Likewise, if you’re at a CrossFit class with a friend who’s never lifted more than your spirit, you’re not going to squat the same weight. Fairness means treating people…

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Do I Have an Estate to Plan at All?

Do I have an estate?

Ask most people about their estate, and chances are their response will fall somewhere between “Do I have an estate?” and “Who do you think I am?” After all, the word “estate” conjures images of wrought iron gates, statue-lined driveways, and palace-sized homes when—in reality—it simply refers to all the “stuff” a person owns. Without…

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