I have had many clients over the years who have spoken about their children, and only after digging down do I discover that they are the client’s stepchildren, never formally adopted though often raised by the stepparent from a young age. The problem? Legally...

I see it all too often – a beneficiary confirms that the deceased had changed their mind about leaving money to a particular charity, or even a person, and wants to know if anything can be done after the fact. The short answer is, emphatically, no. Once you die, your...

Choosing who will administer your estate is among the more difficult decisions you will make when drafting your will. However, it is also one of the most important, because it will determine how quickly your estate is distributed, as well as how well everyone gets...

I have a lot of clients who have young children, and often, they are spaced a few years apart. When this is the case, a great solution might be a pooled trust. A pooled trust keeps everything in your estate in one big trust, with money available for all of your...

Many people feel that estate planning is only for the very rich, or those with highly complex family situations. This is simply not the case. Most of us, if we knew what will happen without a will, would go running to the nearest lawyer to have a proper will drawn up....

One of the most tragic stories I ever heard was of a couple who were in a fatal car accident on the way home from the hospital with their newborn daughter. The baby survived without a scratch; both parents died. What made it even more tragic was that the parents did...

We had another client recently who received a windfall; her former husband hadn’t updated his will, and they were separated without a separation agreement and not yet divorced, so she inherited everything on his sudden death. I can just about guarantee you that that...

There are a lot of things that can go wrong in an estate plan, particularly if you try to DIY. Here are some of the big ones: Not planning for incapacity. All of us will die, so having a will is important. However, many of us will also become incapacitated at some...