- Types of Charitable Trusts for Financial Planning
Charitable lead trusts (CLTs) and charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) are two types of charitable trusts that could benefit your financial plans for your estate. They provide tax-advantaged income to you and your beneficiaries during or at the end of the term of the trusts along with allowing you to make donations to your favorite charities.… read more…
- How to Report a Death to Social Security
When a close friend or family member dies, there are a lot of things you have to deal with — funeral planning, dealing with the person’s estate and, of course, managing your own grief. One important task you may not think of right away is to notify the Social Security Administration of their death. One… read more…
- What Is a First-Party Special Needs Trust?
Individuals living with disabilities that impact their day-to-day or long-term medical conditions often depend on external support. For example, they may rely on government assistance programs, like Medicaid, to access necessary care. However, some of these programs have strict asset limit rules that can make or break your eligibility. One way disabled individuals, families and… read more…
- What Is Included in an Estate Inventory?
When someone passes away, it is often necessary for their estate to go through probate. This is a court-supervised process in which someone’s estate is settled, outstanding debts are paid and assets are distributed to the deceased person’s heirs. An executor is charged with being the individual who oversees the probate process. One of the… read more…
- What Is an Estate?
In financial law, an “estate” refers to all of the assets and property owned by someone who has died. However, this definition can have a few different applications depending on where in the estate process the decedent’s estate is. Estate planning is required to ensure your assets are handled exactly as you want after you’re gone.… read more…
- What Are the Legal Rights of a Disinherited Child?
State laws may allow parents who are writing a will to disinherit one or more children. There are different reasons why a child may be disinherited. For example, if parents disagree about a child’s lifestyle choices, they may choose to leave them nothing in their will. Children can also be left out of a will if… read more…
- What Happens After Probate Is Closed?
Probate is the legal process of settling a person’s estate after they pass away. Even if a will is in place with detailed instructions, probate still occurs. During this process, several key steps take place, including creating an inventory of the estate, paying off outstanding debts and distributing the remaining assets to heirs. However, once… read more…
- What Is a Family LLC?
Limited liability companies can protect your personal assets if you own a business but they can also be used in estate planning. Specifically, you could establish a family LLC to shield assets from creditors while ensuring a smoother transfer of… read more…
- What Is a Devisee?
According to a recent Gallup poll, less than half of U.S. adults currently have a will that describes how they want their estate and money handled after they die. At just 46%, that leaves the majority of citizens unaware of the estate administration process and unprepared. As a result, you may be unfamiliar with technical terms,… read more…
- Understanding the Estate Administration Process
Very few people know how to manage and take care of an estate when someone passes. There seems to be an endless stream of paperwork to complete and it becomes even more complicated when you have to work with both state and federal laws. While the probate and estate administration process can be overwhelming, it’s… read more…
- Can an Illegitimate Child Claim Inheritance?
The term illegitimate child—historically used to describe a child born to unmarried parents—is largely outdated in modern legal contexts. Today, inheritance rights are typically based on legal parentage, not the marital status of the parents. In most states, a child has the right to inherit from both legally recognized parents, regardless of whether the parents… read more…
- What to Consider About Child Inheritance
When deciding how to pass on assets to your heirs, it’s important to consider where minor children fit in. Child inheritance laws generally prohibit children from inheriting land, real property or other assets if they’re under 18. Depending on probate and inheritance laws in your state, it’s even possible to exclude children from inheriting any… read more…
- What Is Asset Protection Planning?
Asset protection planning is the process of building barriers around your assets, whether those assets are personal or business, to keep them safe from litigation, creditor claims, seizure and burdensome taxes. It’s a vital and completely legal component of both… read more…
- How Can Separate Property Become Marital Property?
Marital property, also known as marital assets, spousal assets or community property, matters when it comes to taxes, estate law and divorce. In most cases, separate property applies to the assets you owned going into a marriage; marital property, on… read more…
- What Is a Private Trust Company?
A private trust company or family trust company is an estate planning tool that can be used to preserve wealth. This type of trust entity is most often used by high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. For example, someone who runs a family-owned business and has $150 million in assets may choose to establish a private trust… read more…
- Understanding Conventional Life Estates
A conventional life estate grants possession and limited ownership of an asset to someone for as long as they live. It can be created using a deed, specified in a will or included as part of a trust. Life estates are often used to provide housing for parents, spouses or offspring. On the death of the… read more…
- Who Is a Remainderman in a Life Estate?
Estate planning is complicated and there are many ways you can protect your assets after your death. One way is to establish a life estate for the person you want to live there for their lifetime. A remainderman is a beneficiary in a life estate who will inherit property after the life tenant’s death. There… read more…
- Attorney-in-Fact vs. Power of Attorney
When you need someone to make legally binding decisions on your behalf, you grant them that authority with a power of attorney form. There are many titles for the person who exercises this authority on your behalf. One such title… read more…
- How Charitable Lead Trusts Work
A charitable lead trust is a form of charitable trust that first distributes assets to the named charities. Once the assets have been distributed to the charities as specified in the trust, the named beneficiaries receive the remainder of the… read more…
- Gross Estate: Definition, Calculation and Formula
Estate planning when you have a small or moderately sized estate is complex enough. But it can become even more complicated with a larger estate. With more assets, the more likely you are to face taxes on a state or… read more…
- What Is an Attorney-in-Fact?
An attorney-in-fact is a person authorized by a power of attorney to act in the place of someone else. An attorney-in-fact, also sometimes called an agent, can have specific responsibilities, such as making decisions about medical care. Or the responsibilities may be very broad, authorizing the attorney-in-fact to sign legal documents and make investment and… read more…
- When Can a Trust Be Contested?
Trusts offer some unique advantages for estate planning and they can be a valuable tool for creating a legacy of wealth. But what happens when the beneficiaries of a trust disagree with its terms or the way the trustee manages it? Can a trust be contested? The short answer is that yes, in certain situations,… read more…
- How a Charitable Trust Works
A charitable trust holds assets and distributes them to charities. When you establish the trust you can specify how it will manage and invest its assets, as well as how it will make donations. There are some tax benefits to setting… read more…
- What Is the Prudent Person Rule?
Most of us are at least familiar with the premise behind the Golden Rule. Essentially, it states that we are to treat others how we’d want to be treated. When it comes to the relationship between investors and fiduciaries responsible… read more…
- How Pooled Special Needs Trusts Work
When it comes to setting aside money for someone with special needs, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind. For instance, how do you provide for everyday needs and living expenses while also maintaining eligibility for public… read more…