Estate Planning
4 Ways Estate Planning Benefits Small Businesses
Many small business owners concentrate on the day to day operations of their businesses. They may be forward thinking and planners when it comes to marketing and supply chain, but not too many think about the future of their business if something should happen to them. What can you do to protect this organization you…
READ MORE →Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies & Estate Planning
You have probably heard of (or even invested in) cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. For those that aren’t sure what I’m talking about, cryptocurrencies are a new kind of money that only exist digitally. While you can’t hold such currency at your local bank or buy gas or groceries with them (yet), these digital…
READ MORE →5 Ways to Stop Unwanted Contact After a Family Member Dies
A couple of weeks ago, I read a post about a handful of Facebook Friends who had lost spouses and had contact by phone and email for sales offers in their spouses’ names recently. The comments told a tale of companies who had been told repeatedly to remove the decedents name from the list and…
READ MORE →4 Reasons: Estate Planning is a Final Act of Love
Very recently, a close friend’s wife lost her Father. Though his health was not the best, his decline was rapid and unexpected. The family, particularly her Mother, struggled to make choices that honored him, their culture and other family members’ suggestions. To put it plainly, it was chaotic, stressful and unsettling. With Valentine’s Day approaching…
READ MORE →Guest Post: Making Your Home Comfortable for an Elderly Loved One
By Marie Villeza, elderimpact.org Many families these days are making the decision to have an elderly loved one move in with them rather than live in an assisted care facility, but it’s a big change that can affect everyone in the family. It requires quite a bit of planning and can take a toll on…
READ MORE →At What Age Should You Start Estate Planning?
I recently performed a random survey (which may, or may not have happened on Facebook). I asked the question: “At what age do you think you should meet with an Estate Planning Attorney?” The answers were very thoughtful, and I learned a lot about what people think of estate planning. So what is the…
READ MORE →In Memoriam … How Hollywood is Motivating People to Plan
Each year a newspaper or magazine reminds us of all the celebrities who passed away. I mention it not to put a damper on a New Year full of hope and promise. Really, it is a good way for me to illustrate estate planning trials and tribulations for clients and would-be clients. Take for example…
READ MORE →Who Should I Choose as Guardian of My Children?
That is one of the hardest questions for people to answer. Looking at my current list of open cases, I have three or four clients that have not been able to finish the planning process because of this very issue. While the estate planning process usually only takes a few weeks to complete, I have…
READ MORE →An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
An acquaintance told me recently that her mother is being taken advantage of by her son. It was a heart-wrenching story for sure. Unfortunately, due to circumstances I can’t elaborate on, I was not able to help her mother with any preventative measures. Perhaps the saddest part about her situation is that fixing the problem…
READ MORE →Alzheimer’s Awareness Month & Estate Planning
President Ronald Reagan designated November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in 1983. At the time, fewer than 2 million Americans had Alzheimer’s; today, the number of people with the disease has soared to nearly 5.4 million. That number is expected to increase to 7.1 million Americans by 2025. More than 70 percent of people with…
READ MORE →National Estate Planning Awareness Week
Editor’s Note: We were thrilled to featured in My News Mesa.Com to spread the word about NEPAW. See it on the site by clicking HERE or read the text below … More than half of Americans, an estimated 56 percent, do not have an estate plan in place, making estate planning a critically overlooked component…
READ MORE →Giving Back: Donating to Charity Via Your Estate Plan
Done properly, the organization will benefit from your donation and its own tax exempt status and you as the giver benefit from “doing good” and various tax benefits. It’s a serious win-win.
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