Sometimes beneficiaries end up not receiving their assets. Beneficiaries often lose out because the estate planning wasn’t done properly, but sometimes another family member contests the decedent’s will.
So, you’ve decided that a family member won’t be getting an inheritance, after all. Maybe you have an ungrateful or irresponsible family member you want to cut out of the will.
The possibility that a power of attorney might be rejected may be one reason not to simply pull a form off the internet and hope it will be accepted.
I have settled my mother’s estate and sent the final accounting paperwork to my three siblings. Two have signed off on the bond paperwork but my one brother is nitpicking the statements, asking for invoices for the lawyer, the CPA, etc. Can I send the other two their share of the inheritance or do I need to wait until everyone signs off?
Probate and trust administration are not the same. There are important differences and similarities between administering a decedent’s probate estate and administering a decedent’s trust estate.
The death care industry — yep, it’s got its own industry moniker — is an estimated $20 billion business. Service Corporation International, a publicly traded company that operates 1,475 funeral homes and 483 cemeteries in 44 states, pulled in more than $3.2 billion in revenue in the past 12 months.
You might not be able to spend all the money in your 401(k) plan before you die. If that happens, your retirement savings will pass to the person you name as the beneficiary of the account. The information on your 401(k) beneficiary form typically supersedes what is written in your will. Therefore, it is important to keep this form up to date for all your retirement and investment accounts.
It can be hard to move through your daily life after someone you love dies. It may be even harder to embark on the complex tasks required to put their financial affairs in order. However, you can’t afford to put that off.
Eighty-five million families in the United States own at least one pet. That’s 68% of the population. How many of those owners have a plan for what would happen to their pet, if they themselves met with a crisis, had a lengthy hospitalization, or died?
If you pass away with no will, a state court may decide who gets your assets and — if you have children — who will care for them.
