» Estate Planning

Ten states in the U.S. are classified as “community property” states, in which each partner in a marriage is considered to own half of the assets acquired during the marriage. Although community property jurisdictions constitute a small minority… Read More

Retirement assets, including Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), often make up a large part of a deceased person’s estate. Retirement accounts are also, unfortunately, one of the biggest sources of estate-planning errors. The rules about distrib… Read More

Like everyone, you have a vision for your future, and plans for how it will unfold. Unfortunately, the prospect of a divorce throws a wrench in those plans. You may need to change course regarding a number of objectives, including your estate plan. T… Read More

If you have ever walked into a bank, you may have noticed signage that indicates that each depositor is insured to a certain amount by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). It’s likely that you’ve never given those signs—or the FDIC… Read More

If you’re the parent of a recent high school graduate or new college student, congratulations! This is an exciting time for both you and your child. You get to celebrate their achievements, and look forward to their bright future as they move into… Read More

If you’re reading this, you probably already know that you need an estate plan, or need to update the one that you have. But you might not be sure where to start, or what the process involves. If so, you’re not alone: a recent study found that on… Read More

Avoiding probate is an important estate planning goal for many people. Although probate isn’t usually as burdensome as people fear, if you can transfer an asset more easily and directly, why not do so? Assets in a will have to go through probate, a… Read More

If you are at or near retirement age, you have probably spent most of your adult life putting away money in your IRA and other retirement funds. While carefully saving, you probably envisioned how you would use the money in your golden years: to trav… Read More