Estate Planning

It’s called the survivor trap or widow’s penalty. It’s a financial monster that eats away retirement income after one spouse dies, often leaving the surviving spouse with no hope of the retirement they expected. Here are some of the pitfalls of the Survivor Trap.   Loss of Social Security One of the first things to happen when a spouse dies [...]

Have you made preparations? It’s a question I’ve asked clients more times than I can count, but I was reminded of the significance of the question and the possible consequences when I recently asked the same thing of a family member. Bill (not his real name) is 70 years old and never been married. He’s in the early stages of [...]

Covid-19 has changed life forever in more ways than we can count. It has also changed end-of-life estate planning and estate modification. It can be very difficult having that conversation with a spouse who’s dying. Estate planning conversations are often put off because they are a reminder of the inevitable for every mortal on the planet. But when one spouse [...]

The mention of estate planning usually evokes thoughts of a will or trust. But there are other documents that should always be part of any estate planning package, such as a living will, a durable power of attorney, and a health care power of attorney. Planning for the distribution of your assets after you’re gone is certainly important. But what [...]

Your estate planning is complete. A living trust was created because it was the best vehicle to accomplish what you want to do. Now you can breathe easily. Or so you think. Over the years, I’ve had new clients come to me who had invested lots of time and money to set up a trust. But when I asked if [...]

Welcome to the show, where you, as part of the studio audience get to hear some of the most common reasons why people don’t plan for the distribution of assets after they’re gone. Listen closely, so you don’t make the same excuses. Okay, maybe that’s a little over-the-top, but not creating an estate plan, even a basic one, opens the [...]

May you live in interesting times. Although that sounds like an ancient blessing, it’s believed to be a Chinese curse casting instability and uncertainty on the person who hears it. Blessing or curse, it’s a great description of the year we’ve just come through, and in spite of all the turmoil, there are some things you can do before the [...]