All Estate Planning Articles
Estate Planning
Estate planning 101: An introductory guide
Estate planning may be one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family — and also one of the easiest things to keep putting off. In fact, a study by AARP found that nearly 60% of American adults don’t have a will or living trust.
Estate Planning
Protect Your Young Adult Children with Sandwich Smarter & Trustworthy
Legal documents like medical records and rental agreements are one of many things young adults and their families need to keep track of. But has your family thought about the importance of a completed and signed Power of Attorney document?
Estate Planning
What Are the Best Online Estate Plan Providers?
Legacy planning is difficult to do on your own. But which are the best online estate plan providers that can help?
Estate Planning
Is Trust and Estate Planning Right for Me?
Contrary to popular belief, trust and estate planning is for people of all ages and income brackets. Here’s what you should know.
Estate Planning
Who are the Parties to a Trust?
There are generally three parties to a trust: The “Grantor” is the person who wants to create the trust and put his or her property into it. This person might instead be called the “Settlor,” but it means the same thing.
Estate Planning
What does a Trustee Do?
When you create a trust, the Trustee is the person you are “trusting” to safeguard and invest the trust property, pay all the legitimate debts, expenses and taxes of the trust, and distribute the trust...
Estate Planning
How is a Trust Created?
A trust is usually created in writing by a legal document, sometimes called the “trust document.” There are two common types of trust document used to create a trust—a Last Will and Testament, or a Trust Agreement.
Estate Planning
What is the Uniform Trust Code? What is the Uniform Probate Code?
The Uniform Probate Code and the Uniform Trust Code are not laws. They are models that some states have used when writing their own probate and trust laws.
Estate Planning
What Exactly is a Trust?
A trust is a legal arrangement by which a person (the “Trustee”) legally owns the property of one person (the “Grantor”) for the benefit of another person (the “Beneficiary”).
Estate Planning
Do You Need to Avoid Probate?
Probate is the name for a legal proceeding in which a deceased person’s Last Will and Testament (or “Will”) is presented to the court which has legal authority (or “jurisdiction”) over the settlement of estates.
Estate Planning
What is Probate?
Probate is the legal proceeding in which a deceased person’s Last Will and Testament is presented to the court. This court has legal authority, or jurisdiction, over the settlement of estates.
Estate Planning
What Is a Power of Attorney for Finances?
A power of attorney is a legal document in which you appoint one or more people to be your agent. You’re called the principal and your agent is sometimes called your attorney-in-fact.
Estate Planning
What Is Your Domicile & Why It Matters
When planning your estate, it’s important to know which state is your legal domicile. Why? Because the laws of each of the fifty states of the United States of America are different.
Estate Planning
What Are Advance Directives?
Advance Directives are legally binding documents that deal with health care matters. Different states have different names for these important documents.
Estate Planning
What is a Last Will and Testament (also known as a Will)?
Traditionally a Will has been the backbone of an estate plan. It is a legally-binding document. that spells out who will inherit the property of a person...
Estate Planning
What Does Your “Property” Mean?
In the estate planning context, property means all of your assets, not just real estate. Property includes real property, which is real estate, and personal property, which is everything else.
Estate Planning
What Does a Typical Estate Plan Include?
An “estate plan” is a plan that you create with the assistance of your attorney — ideally long before your death — so that, when you die, your assets go to the people you choose.
Estate Planning
What is an Estate Plan? (And why you need one)
Your estate plan is a plan that you devise (with the assistance of your attorney) long before your death so that, when you die, your assets go to the people you choose, and in the manner you want.