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Hey Kids! Don’t Sell the Farm!
Here’s a true story about a family where the kids didn’t follow their dad’s advice about the family farm.
Post-it Notes Are Not Legally Binding
I once heard of someone asking her grandchildren to go around the house putting Post-it notes on the things they wanted after she was gone. For several years, every time her grandchildren would come over the post-it notes were still scattered around the house. Yellow...
How Innovative Medicaid Planning Helped Save the Relationship of Two Sisters
This is the real-life story of two sisters, an annuity, nursing home costs, and why Medicaid Planning matters. Mom did not have much, but she owned her home, had a steady retirement income, and had purchased two annuities. Each in the amount of $50,000. Each daughter...
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12 Questions to Ask an Estate Planning Attorney BEFORE Working With Them
I often get asked, "How much does it cost to do an estate plan?" It's difficult to answer that question without understanding more about your family, your situation, and explaining more about our process. If you called a contractor and said, "I want to build a house....
Estate Planning is Like… Backing Into a Parking Place
Do you back into your parking spots or just pull in? How you pull into parking spots may determine what kind of estate planner you are. Read on to find out where you fall. At Ritz's Diner one morning there was a whole row of trucks that were backed into their parking...
Unhappy With Your Will? 6 Reasons Why That Might Be…
You took that big step. You found an attorney and you finally got a Will. So why don't you feel better? You should be experiencing peace of mind, but instead you're still experiencing that nagging worry at the back of your mind. Unfortunately, this happens to a lot of...
Estate Planning is Like… Visiting a Doctor
"My toe hurts!" That's what I told the emergency room doctor when I was about 2.5 years old. (I'm the baby in the picture, just a little before this story happened.) My granddad was headed to the grocery store, and I wanted to go with him. I didn't have shoes on, but...
Living Longer: It’s a Blessing, If You’re Prepared
Here's some good news: people are living much longer these days! So much so that there's a new field in estate planning. It's called Life Care Planning. This type of planning doesn't focus solely on a "death plan." Instead, it focuses on using strategies to make the...
9 Communication Strategies for Dealing With Aging Parents
"Old age ain't no place for sissies." ~Bette Davis I'm sure nearly all of us can conjure up a difficult or frustrating conversation that we've had with aging parents or grandparents. It can be challenging even on a good day, but throw in medical decisions,...
Establishing Financial Success in a Blended Family
Attorney David Edwards recently co-wrote a book with Ron Deal and Greg Pettys. This article is adapted from that book -- The Smart Stepfamily Guide to Financial Planning: Money Management Before and After You Blend a Family. Forming a Togetherness Agreement creates a...
What To Do When a Loved One Dies at Home
Our clients often come to us as a resource for questions not related to estate planning, and we are more than happy to help when they do. "What happens when a loved one dies in my home?" Like we said, sometimes our clients call us with questions that aren't directly...
10 Early Warning Signs of Dementia and Legal Tools to Help
Increasing rates of dementia are creating unique challenges when it comes to aging in the United States. Currently, there are 5.7 million people living with Alzheimer's in the U.S. It is expected that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 10 men living past the age of 55 will develop...
Should I Buy Long-term Care Insurance?
The outrageous cost of care is one of the biggest risks to those getting older. This question looms large in the mind of many who are of retirement age... How will I (we) pay for care costs? And many clients ask us... Should we buy long-term care insurance? There is a...