Once you've reached the decade of your 50s, it's time to tap into your accumulated life experience and wealth by investing with purpose and confidence. You also need to take steps for risk management such as ensuring that you have the right estate planning documents in place for your needs. As you enter your 50s, you may already be thinking about your intended retirement date and whether you have enough saved. It's Read More
How Do Living Trusts Work?
When you set up a trust, it is recommended that you do so with the help of an experienced estate planning lawyer. An estate planning lawyer can assist you with determining your individual estate planning goals and how these connect to the type of trust you select. When you choose a living or revocable trust, this gives you flexibility over your future use of this estate planning vehicle. When you put assets inside Read More
Tangible Versus Intangible Assets in Your Estate Plan
One of the first steps to take for creating an estate plan is to complete an inventory of all of the assets you own. It's easy to overlook assets as you may not realize how many of them you have that are digital or those that are tangible versus intangible. Common tangible assets in most people's estate plans include vehicles like motorcycles, cars or boats, homes or other real estate, personal possessions or Read More
Does My Trust Automatically Avoid Taxes?
Many people fall for the estate planning myth that establishing a trust avoids taxes. This is not normally true and in certain situations may actually increase taxes. It is very important to work with a local estate planning professional to handle all aspects of your estate plan creation. There are two different types of taxes that might apply to assets you place inside a trust or your state overall. These are the Read More
How Does an Estate Plan Address Long Term Care Costs?
Estate planning considers aspects related to management of your assets over the course of your life and what happens to them after you pass away, but it can also go so much further. When you work with a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer, you should be able to develop a holistic plan that considers multiple aspects of elder law and potential long term care needs. Increasingly, clients are asking their estate Read More
Why Would Someone Revoke a Trust?
What if you put together an estate planning tool now, but it’s no longer relevant for what you want in the future? Coming up with a plan that addresses your current needs but also allows for flexibility over the years can be a challenge. This is why it’s best to find a NH estate planning lawyer who can help you as your needs evolve. A trust is a powerful estate planning tool. It gives you privacy, flexibility and Read More
How Do I Know If I Need an Advanced Directive in My Estate Plan?
What happens if you become sick, injured, or otherwise unable to speak up for yourself and the medical care you’d like to receive? If you find yourself dealing with these issues, it can also put your loved ones in a very difficult situation trying to navigate what they believe to be your wishes or care options. You may need to document if you have certain concerns or desires surrounding medical care. This may be Read More
What Does Inflation Mean for Your Retirement Savings?
You may have earmarked your retirement savings not just for your own purposes after you exit the workforce or downgrade your current work role, but also to support your loved ones in estate planning. One of the biggest challenges for retirement savings is inflation. Rising prices can erode the value of the money you've set aside no matter how much you've set aside over the course of your working years. This is Read More
Why You Should Share Your Funeral or Memorial Instructions
Do you have specific wishes or plans related to a funeral or memorial? If so, your family may not know these plans unless it was discussed with them and documented in a place they can find it. It is a common misconception that the proper place for your final burial and funeral wishes is in your will. Many wills are not located, read or filed until days or weeks after the death. Setting up a memorial service, Read More
What Are the Downsides Of Going Through Probate?
Probate refers to the legal process in which your estate is distributed to your heirs, either according to your wishes or according to intestate succession rules. One of the most common aspects of estate planning is to minimize the impact of probate and to remove as many assets as possible from your probate estate. You can work with a lawyer in New Hampshire or Maine to create an estate plan that carries out your Read More
