The Wealth Advisor’s recent article entitled “Beware of These Common Estate Planning Scams” advises you to avoid these common estate planning scams. Cold Calls Offering to Prepare Estate Plans. Scammers call and email purporting to be long lost relatives who’ve had their wallets stolen and are stranded in a foreign country. Seniors fall prey to…
A proper estate plan will help those left navigate the disposition of assets and the probate court system, especially for unmarried couples and some married same-sex couples.
Over the years I get all kinds of questions from people. And boy, have I heard some doozies. But one common one I get is called the ‘lazy (or poor) man’s (or woman’s’) estate planning.’ This type of estate planning has some very negative tax consequences.
The death of a loved one results in an emotional grief that, when combined with large sums of money on the line, can cause the beneficiaries of the will or trust or the heirs of the deceased to challenge the validity, interpretation, or administration of the will or trust.
From age 50 on, it’s not unusual to have occasional trouble finding the right word or remembering where you put things. However, persistent difficulty with memory, cognition and ability to perform everyday tasks might be signs that something more serious is happening to a loved one’s brain.
What happens if you don’t have any family to be personal representative? Other than a family member, who can be personal representative?
The person signing the power of attorney, which gives someone else the authority to act for them, is called the ‘principal’ and the person who is given the power to act for you is called your ‘agent.’
You don’t actually appoint someone power of attorney (POA). A POA is a document that you execute that allows someone to act on your behalf.
A living will is a legal document that allows you to specify the kind of care you’d like to receive in end-of-life situations. This is different from an advance healthcare directive, though either one can be an important part of an estate plan.
Many families have experienced the rollercoaster of emotions watching a loved one slowly start to subside to dementia or Alzheimer’s, but it’s important to realize that you and your loved ones are not alone.
