Our Blog - Surety Matters

  When setting up a trust as part of an estate plan, do not underestimate the responsibilities that will fall to the trustee designated to administer the trust. Serving as a trustee is not an…
Read Moreabout Understanding Trustee Responsibilities

  A life estate is an estate planning tactic that allows real estate to bypass the public process of probate. Essentially, the real estate is gifted directly to a “remainderman” after the “life tenant” dies….
Read Moreabout Is a Life Estate A Good Idea?

  The possibility of living a longer life than previous generations makes it more important than ever to thoughtfully map out care and financial plans and scenarios. In fact, estate planning now goes way beyond…
Read Moreabout Safety Net for Older Age?

Reducing worry, protecting loved ones, being prepared in case of our own incapacity…All of these are good reasons to make an estate plan when life is going well. Still, however, most of us procrastinate. Here…
Read Moreabout Procrastinating? Estate Plan Motivation

  Unlike the assets placed in a trust, the assets left to beneficiaries in a will must pass through the public process of probate before being distributed. Although the expediency and privacy trusts allow can…
Read Moreabout Why Do Wills Go Through Probate?

  After making a will, setting up a trust, or putting other care and estate plans in place, most people instinctively look to relations and close friends to serve as the fiduciaries who take on…
Read Moreabout When A Professional Fiduciary Makes Sense

Statistically Speaking Every adult should have an estate plan that attends to both their own needs in the event of a decline, and tends organizes asset distribution upon death. However, statistically speaking, it’s even more…
Read Moreabout Statistically Speaking

  Before invalidating a will because of claims of undue influence, probate courts must decide if actual coercion led to the decisions reflected in the will. Afterall, people help each other all the time. How…
Read Moreabout Wills: Coercion or Help?

  In the face of long lives and a rise in the number of people experiencing cognitive decline, some attorneys point out that incorporating a “cognitive continuity clause” in revocable trust instruments can serve as…
Read Moreabout Survivor Trustee: Cognitive Continuity Clause?