Our Blog - Surety Matters

  This is one of those questions that it’s even hard for Google to answer. Why? It depends! The public process of paying the debts and distributing the assets of the deceased, known as probate,…
Read Moreabout How Long Does Probate Take?

  Although estate planning is important for all families, it is especially critical to plan ahead for beneficiaries with disabilities. Failure to do so can set off an unintended chain of consequences that can be…
Read Moreabout Disabled Beneficiaries?

  By designating assets to non profit organizations, families can use wealth for social good. Estate planners explain charitable trusts, clarifying the difference between charitable remainder and lead trusts.   Charitable Trusts Are Irrevocable Charitable…
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  Of course making proactive decisions about family assets and treasured belongings is challenging, but lawyers encourage as much specificity as possible when making a will. Reliance on “the kids” to work things out “later”…
Read Moreabout Making a Will? Be Specific

  Even amidst the painful lessons of the pandemic, most Americans still don’t have a will, and correspondingly, have not designated anyone to attend to their affairs upon death. Legal experts share insights to spark…
Read Moreabout Understand The Importance: Wills and Executors

  Big secrets withheld from close family members are difficult during life—and perhaps even more devastating upon death, when loved ones no longer have the hope of making peace with a surprising new reality. However,…
Read Moreabout Family Secrets and Estate Plans

Here’s a reality no one likes to talk about: when a loved one dies, as if working through grief is not enough, there’s a lot of other work to be done. In addition to the…
Read Moreabout Death In The Family? Practical Advice

  No one wants to think about living with Alzheimer’s. Sadly, a growing number of people and their families have no choice but to make big shifts in their lives, as they cope with the…
Read Moreabout Alzheimers? Consider a Trust

In Missouri the Circuit Court’s Probate Division oversees the distribution of assets after a death. If there is a will, assets are distributed accordingly, after debts are paid. If there is no will, Missouri’s intestacy…
Read Moreabout Missouri: Probate and Personal Representatives?