Our Blog - Surety Matters

  What matters most: equal or fair? Ensuring that adult children all benefit from a share of our assets requires clear thinking—and courageous communication. While it is easy and typical to say each child gets…
Read Moreabout Divvying Up The Estate?

  Wishing. Hoping. Wanting. These words convey suggestions, but not direct orders: they are precatory, and therefore not generally useful in official estate planning documents like wills or trusts, which demand absolute clarity. Nonetheless, attorneys…
Read Moreabout Precatory Language?

  Probate is the public process of paying off debts and distributing assets, either in accordance with the terms of a will or, absent a will, the state laws of intestacy. Although probate tends to…
Read Moreabout Probate: Final Distribution of Assets?

  When inspiring those we care about to achieve life goals is an important consideration during estate planning, establishing an incentive trust might be the way to go. Read on for an overview of incentive…
Read Moreabout Incentive Trusts: If You Do This…

  Simply put, an estate is the sum total of everything we own. Planning for what becomes of our assets—aka estate planning, makes sense for everyone, ensuring affairs are in order for loved ones, and…
Read Moreabout What Exactly Is An Estate?

  Having more then one owner named on property or financial accounts generally enables a smooth transition upon the death of one owner. Estate planning experts share examples and advice about the usefulness of joint…
Read Moreabout Joint Ownership: For Convenience?

  Family and estate lawyers see a lot—and it is not always pretty. Accordingly, attorneys advice that it’s best to button up estate plans carefully, so that conflicts cannot spring up through the cracks. Here,…
Read Moreabout We’re A Happy Family?

  Yes, it is possible to serve as an executor for a deceased loved one—and be a beneficiary of some of their assets too. In fact, quite commonly, the executor named when a will is…
Read Moreabout Executor and Beneficiary?

Estate Planning Optimized We tend to equate estate planning with preparing for death and gifting assets to loved ones. In the face of both longer life spans and increased awareness (thanks COVID?) that anything can…
Read Moreabout Estate Planning Optimized