Estate planning is the process of creating a strategy for the care and management of your property if you become incapacitated or upon your death. A common motivation of estate planning is to simplify the estate administration process and protect you…
Read More
Last week we shared an article on planning for your Ohio vacation home. The bottom line of the article was that vacation homes have very specific and often troublesome issues, and it’s important to make plans for how these special properties are pa…
Read More
If you’re wondering what kind of estate plan is right for you, you might be feeling overwhelmed with all of the information out there about the different options you have. It can be hard sifting through all of the details to get to the bottom l…
Read More
If tragedy strikes your family and your children need someone to take care of them because you cannot, then a judge will choose who steps in to care for them. You can have a voice in that selection, however, if you’ve taken the steps to nominat…
Read More
If you think you only need to create protective trusts for young, troubled, or financially inexperienced beneficiaries, then think again. In today’s environment of frivolous lawsuits and high divorce rates, you should consider protective trusts…
Read More
We often write about why it’s so important to have an estate plan. We write about how estate plans allow you to make the process of estate administration more simple and less expensive for your loved ones. And of course we write about how a good es…
Read More
Many people assume that estate planning is primarily for married couples, but the truth of the matter is that estate planning is just as important for a single person as it is for a married couple. Whether a person is single because they are divorced…
Read More
When we are sitting with clients discussing how to plan their estates, we are often asked about how to protect assets from the high cost of long term care or from other potential creditors. It’s generally in the context of whether a Revocable Livin…
Read More
If you have a trust and set it up to avoid probate when you pass away, which is a very common goal for estate planning, then you need to watch this video. First, congratulations on getting your trust set up. You’ve taken a great first step for maki…
Read More
Download our free “Estate Planning Checklist: The Essential Guide for Making your Best Estate Plan in Ohio.” The checklist walks you through the steps you need to address to have the plan that is right for you and your loved ones.
Put in its most simple terms, estate planning involves putting your affairs in order so as to maximize the benefits that your assets can provide to you during your life and to those you desire to benefit from it after your death. Estate pla… Read More
What Does a Proper Estate Plan Include?
A proper estate plan to provide for the needs of your family may include:
An adequate Will or Trust
A written agreement concerning the status of your assets
If you already have an estate plan, it should not be considered permanent. Conditions, as well as your desires, may change. Estate plans should be reviewed at least every two-three years but, additionally, any important change in your life demands… Read More
What Happens if You Don't Have a Will or Trust?
If you do not have a Will or a Trust and have not used other probate-avoiding techniques, upon your death your assets will pass according to the laws of the state which has jurisdiction over your assets. The “state plan” may not provide for th… Read More
What Other Probate Avoiding Techniques Are There In Addition to Living Trusts?
The following methods are often used to avoid probate: joint tenancy title, community property title, bank account trusts, pay on death accounts, life insurance proceeds, retirement proceeds (IRA’S, TSA’S, 401K’s, etc.), retirement pla… Read More
What Should I Bring to My First Meeting?
People often ask what they should bring with them to their initial estate planning consultation (we call this “the Discovery Meeting”) with one of our attorneys.
As we discuss in Our Planning Process, the Discovery Meeting is our oppor… Read More
I Already Have an Estate Plan. Why Should I Think About Changing It?
We find that many people already have an estate plan, but it does not meet their current planning needs. They may have a Will that was prepared many, many years ago, or they may have a trust that prepared more recently, but those plans may not be… Read More
What Does an Estate Plan Cost?
As you might imagine, we get that question all the time. It is a difficult question to answer because fees are determined by the type of plan we put together, and that is determined by your goals, objectives and asset mix. The planning fees can ra… Read More
How Much of an Estate Do I Need to Have In Order to Set Up a Trust?
There is no “bright line rule” for determining whether a person needs a trust as a part of their planning. The answer for any particular person will depend on their own planning needs and planning goals.