Crafting an estate plan is crucial in caring for your family. It can be an important step for making sure things are in order once you’re gone – and it’s never too early to start. More than 70% of adults in the U.S. think that having an estate plan in place would make...

Wills, trusts and estate plans come in all different shapes and sizes. Some will be straightforward because there is a single beneficiary, but these days estate plans will often need to consider children, stepchildren and a second (or third) wife. It can even get more...

Millions of music fans mourned the loss of Tom Petty when he unexpectedly died in 2017. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer left behind a sizable estate to his wife and two daughters that was set up as a trust. However, the wife of 16 years and grown daughters from a...

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld is famous for his influential work over a long and storied career before dying on February 19 at age 85. He continues to make news from the grave with an extravagant but not surprising bequest to his Birman cat, Choupette, of a portion...

Siblings may have been raised in the same family, but they rarely have the same financial issues when inheriting money unless there is a trust that manages the estate. The more common scenario is for brothers and sisters to inherent the family home and/or other...

Many will remember the tragic death of Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura, who died January 22, 2017 in a single-car crash. While contracts are an important part of professional sports, or any job for that matter, some will be surprised to note that the Royals...

Sometimes it makes more sense to set up a generation skipping trust, particularly if the objective is to reduce the size of tax obligation among family members. This trust does this by directly placing assets with grandchildren and future generations rather than...

Many of us have heard the term “Roth IRA” and may even understand that it is a good way to avoid paying unnecessary taxes or avoiding probate. Needless to say, many out there believe that there is a lot to like about this estate-planning tool.Some basics...

Thinking about contesting a will during probate is a fairly common part of the process for many. Of course, the standing of the objecting party will have a lot of bearing on the matter with children of the decadent ranking much higher than a distant cousin once...

The internet has made it easier to sell or determine the value of collectable objects. Nevertheless, families may have no idea what the value of some old stamps, rare books, comic books or even that vintage car. Perhaps a parent was a little self-conscious about how...