A trust and a will are two legal documents that no estate plan should be without, yet they serve entirely different functions. Both documents work together to ensure your wishes are fully carried out after you die. A will becomes effective immediately upon your death, whereas a trust goes into effect at the time it [...]
Certain life events necessitate making an appointment with your elder law attorney to review and update your estate plan. These events are: Increase or Decrease in Assets. Your estate may subject to taxes if it has significantly increased. On the flip side, you may need to modify your estate plan to focus on other items [...]
A recent court case shed light on the importance of taking not only current family relationships into consideration when planning your estate, but also potential step-relatives that may join your family later on. The case involved a North Dakota couple who set up two trusts for their grandson. The trust designated their grandson's brothers and [...]
A medical directive, also referred to as an advance directive, is a directive that typically accompanies a health care proxy, but it may also be a separate document. A medical directive outlines specific instructions as to the type of medical care a person wants to receive, such as instructions to remove a patient from life [...]
If the beneficiary of your life insurance policy is someone other than your spouse, such as your children or other family member, your policy may be included in your taxable estate. If the total amount of your taxable estate is greater than the current state or federal estate tax exemption, your policy may be taxed. [...]
Another downfall to gifting assets is that the children given the assets may not save for the parent’s needs. When a trust is used to protect assets for long-term care costs, the trustee can access the funds when the time is needed, providing an extra insurance that medical needs can be met. It is important [...]
A trust is often created to protect assets from the costs of long-term care. We are often asked why it is not advisable to simply give assets to a family member instead. The reason we advise against is this is because no one is protected from the four D’s of life: divorce, debt, disability and [...]
Special needs trusts, or supplemental needs trusts, are a type of trust designed to provide benefits to a person who has a disability while protecting their assets. The main reason for choosing a special needs trust is that it is designed to allow the person with the disability to receive government health and disability benefits, [...]
Testamentary and inter vivos trusts are two types of trusts that should be explored when estate planning. Testamentary Trusts A testamentary trust is created as part of the last will and testament. It does not take effect until the death of the testator, who is the person that created the will. Testamentary trusts are revocable, [...]
There are many types of trusts, designed for a variety of purposes. In fact, a trust may be created for any legal purpose. Two terms that you will likely hear when planning a trust are revocable trusts and irrevocable trusts. Revocable Trusts A revocable trust may be amended or terminated by the settlor during the [...]