If you’ve been designated to serve as the trustee for a living trust, it’s important to understand exactly what that job entails. After all, when the trust grantor passes away, it will fall to you to properly administer the trust to ensure that it objectives are met. In many instances, however, people agree to take on that trustee role without ever really knowing what they’re being asked to do. … [Read more...] about Seven Steps to Trust Administration

Estate planning can be a complex process for many individuals and families, and many struggle with unusual challenges that prove difficult to resolve. Often, simple estate planning tools like a Last Will and Testament are insufficient to meet those challenges, and that’s when many people turn to living trusts to meet their needs. In most cases, those individuals tend to focus on revocable trusts … [Read more...] about Could an Irrevocable Trust Solve Your Estate Planning Problems?

One of the most difficult challenges any of us face is the need to properly plan for the distribution of our assets when we die. End-of-life and estate planning concerns often tend to go unaddressed by most people, since they usually involve subjects that most of us would rather avoid. The problem is that those subjects cannot easily be ignored, since either we or our heirs will eventually have to … [Read more...] about Can Florida Trust Law Help Enhance Your Estate Plan?

Many people begin their estate planning efforts with just a handful of goals in mind. These typically include things like avoiding probate and ensuring that assets get properly distributed to their heirs. Some take it a step further and look for ways to mitigate tax obligations or take care of certain heirs that need more structured inheritances. To truly make the most of your comprehensive estate … [Read more...] about Why the Asset Protection Trust Should Be Part of Your Estate Planning Strategy

The Last Will and Testament is a powerful tool for expressing a person’s last wishes. With it, a decedent can declare who gets his assets, name a guardian for his children, and even provide directions about how he’d like them to be raised. One of the most important powers that a will provides, however, is the power to name an executor to oversee the settling of his estate. If you’ve been named as … [Read more...] about Serving as the Executor of a Will: Get the Facts About Your Duties

If there is anything that can rival the tragedy of losing a loved one, it is the confusion and family strife that can occur when that loved one failed to provide a proper estate plan. Contested wills, arguments over the distribution of assets, and a host of other conflicts can emerge in the absence of a sound and enforceable legal plan. Obviously, you don’t want your eventual death to tear your … [Read more...] about Planning a Will: Avoiding Confusion and Conflict with an Estate Plan

When it comes to effective estate planning, there are few components more essential than a person’s last will and his living trust. Without at least one of these two planning vehicles, an individual’s assets will end up being apportioned by the state in accordance with whatever intestate laws are in effect at the time. Obviously, no one with any sort of transferrable assets wants to see that … [Read more...] about Wills vs Trusts: Which Option is Right for You?

A Last Will and Testament is typically the first estate planning document executed when  creating an estate plan. Although some people choose to use a Will to distribute their entire estate, most people prefer to incorporate additional estate planning tools and strategies to create their estate plan. One reason for this is the desire to avoid probate because of the costs involved in probating an … [Read more...] about What Is a Pour Over Will?