If you think about your estate plan as a way for you to pass on gifts to your loved ones, have you considered whether or not they may be eligible or responsible enough to take on these significant assets? A recent study finds that the majority of Americans who may receive an inheritance in the coming years don't have the ability to handle it. New York Life's Wealth Watch Survey found that only 42% of adults Read More
Why Is a Trust So Valuable for Transferring Property?
You may have the best of intentions with passing on property to other people directly, but it can create unexpected consequences if you’re not careful, Instead, you may turn to a range of tools to help ensure your wishes are followed, and one common strategy is to use a trust either during your life or in plans after you pass away to provide more control and clarity. The most substantial transfer of wealth in our Read More
You Must Understand How Divorce Impacts Your Estate
Getting a divorce may be one of the biggest life changes you undertake. It can feel overwhelming, confusing, and emotionally taxing. Those are big reasons why making estate plan updates post-divorce get overlooked, putting your intentions for asset transfer at risk if something happens to you. Depending on where you live, your soon to be ex-spouse may be entitled to assets under your estate. This is because if your Read More
Should We Use Joint Ownership of Property with Adult Children?
Exploring strategies to make your estate plan as optimal and strategic as possible is highly recommended. Finding an experienced and qualified estate planning lawyer is very valuable to help you decide the best ways to own property or even share property with children in NH. Gifting a piece of property outright may not be the right choice for you, which could lead you down the path of deciding how best to approach Read More
What Are Your Chances of Needing Long Term Care?
Research from the World Health Organization shows that people are living longer. However, this isn't all good news, as many people may not recognize the potential for suffering serious medical conditions in their later years. By 2030, one in six people all over the world will be at least 60 years old. This means that many countries are experiencing a significant surge in older populations, which raises many serious Read More
What Role Does a Trustee Play in The Management of Your Estate?
A trustee is not an applicable player in every single estate filed across the country. A trustee is only relevant when you have established trusts for the distribution of assets during your life or after you pass away. A trustee is the person officially responsible for administering these trusts, and the trustee's role is very similar to that of an executor. However, the trustee's responsibilities may extend Read More
How Long After My Death Will My Heirs Need to File for Probate?
Once you pass away, the court must be notified about the death in order to open probate. While not all assets pass through probate, many do, and this requires an official procedure to open and close probate proceedings in NH. How long your estate representative has to open probate depends on the individual jurisdiction. When you pass away, the court process of probate is required in order for the court to Read More
Just Retired? It’s the Perfect Time to Revisit Your Estate Plan
Hitting your chosen retirement age brings about a lot of emotions, and it can seem overwhelming to make this change from working full-time to stepping into whatever your next chapter looks like. Retirement brings about a significant amount of transition, and while you may be celebrating, you may also be nervous about what's ahead. This substantial change in your life coincides with the need to review your Read More
What To Ask Yourself Before Choosing an Executor
Many people simply default to choosing a close relative to serve in the role of executor. Your executor is the person responsible for handling your estate administration. An executor is either named by the court to administer the decedent's estate or named in a will. An executor's duties can cover many different aspects, especially if the individual who passed away owned substantial assets. Some of the most common Read More
Don’t Forget to Think About the Tax Implications of The Assets You Transfer
Passing on assets to your loved ones and even organizations you care about as you pass away is an important factor in the estate planning process. After you pass away, your chosen executor of your will must know what property you have, and your instructions for distributing it. You may accidentally reduce the value of the assets you transfer simply by gifting them outright during your life or after you pass away, so Read More
