Estate Planning
Why Is It Important To Choose A Fully Reputable Estate Planning Lawyer? Sarah Laux is an estate planning attorney from Wisconsin who has been accused in a 33-count criminal indictment of stealing $3 million from two of her wealthy older clients. Her indictment includes five counts, including fraud, money laundering and filing a false tax return, which could have resulted…Read More
What Is The Difference Between A Will And A Trust? Do I Need One, Either, Both Or Neither? First of all, there is a wide range of differences among types of trusts, but here we will focus on revocable living trusts. A revocable living trust is basically a separate entity in which assets are deposited and withdrawn during one's lifetime.…Read More
Many people own a family vacation home--a lakeside cabin, a beachfront condo--a place where parents, children and grandchildren can gather for vacations, holidays and a bit of relaxation. It is important that the treasured family vacation home be considered as part of a thorough estate plan. In many cases, the owner wants to ensure that the vacation home remains within…Read More
Estate planning is designed to fulfill the wishes of a person after his or her death. Problems can easily arise, however, if the estate plan contains unanswered questions that can no longer be resolved after the person's demise. This can, and frequently does, lead to costly litigation counter-productive to the goals of the estate. It is important that will be…Read More
I Would Like To Ensure That My Valuable Jewelry Is Distributed To Certain Family Members. Can I Accomplish This In My Will? When it comes to creating and executing a Last Will and Testament, it is important to address both real and personal property. Real property is a term referring solely to land, whereas personal property basically involves everything else.…Read More
There are certain considerations that should be kept in mind for those with chronic illnesses. Before addressing this issue, there should be some clarification as to the definition of "chronically ill." There are at least two definitions of chronically ill. The first is likely the most common meaning, which is an illness that a person may live with for many…Read More
How Should I Communicate My Wishes About My Funeral And Burial To My Family? Many people have very specific wishes about what they want their funeral to be like and what they want to happen to their body after they die. A very common misconception is that those wishes should be included in your will. Putting your funeral plans and…Read More
How Can I Prepare For Creating An Estate Plan? For most people, a trip to their attorney’s office is as about as welcome as a root canal. We get it. We know you would rather be doing almost anything else with your time. So, we’ve put together this list of four items you should bring to your first estate planning…Read More
My Spouse And I Maintain Assets Approaching The Federal Estate Tax Threshold. Should We Look Into Transferring Our Assets To Trust? Currently, the federal government may impose an estate tax on transferred assets of $5.43 million per individual, or $10.86 million per couple, with a top taxation rate of 40 percent. For higher net-worth couples, a 40 percent tax rate…Read More
“I just need a simple will.” It’s a phrase estate planning attorneys hear practically every other day. From the client’s perspective, there’s no reason to do anything complicated, especially if it might lead to higher legal fees. Unfortunately, what may appear to be a “simple” estate is all too often rife with complications that, if not addressed during the planning…Read More
Preparing for the future is an uncertain business, but there are steps you can take during your lifetime to simplify matters for your loved ones after you pass, and to ensure your final wishes are carried out. Planning for what happens to your property, or who cares for your family members, upon your death can be a complicated process. To…Read More