Estate Planning

Estate Planning is the process of determining how your wealth and assets should be transferred to the heirs of your choice: your children, grandchildren, friends, families, charitable causes, etc. and then deciding which legal tools and structures to use to best meet your estate planning goals.

Estate planning is not simply reducing or eliminating taxes and avoiding probate.  Only after establishing how you want your estate’s assets to be distributed should you consider ways to reduce taxes and avoid probate. From there, good estate plans deal with a host of other issues. Now, with all but a few estates exempt from the federal estate tax, those other issues are, or should be, at the forefront of estate planning.

An estate plan is to ensure that you are taken care of the rest of your life and that your wealth is transferred to the people you want to have it. A good estate plan ensures these goals are accomplished with as much efficiency and as little cost as possible. An estate plan addresses the management and distribution of an individual’s property and financial obligations after he or she dies with financial tools such as wills, revocable living trusts and power of attorney.

For a comprehensive overview of Estate Planning, please start with our article:

• What is Estate Planning – A Comprehensive Overview

Estate Planning, Probate

What is a Probate Sale and How Does It Work?

October 23, 2020

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

  Probate is the legal process that ensures your debts are paid and legal title of your assets is transferred to the appropriate heirs and beneficiaries. If you have a will, the probate process will determine whether the will is authentic and valid.    A probate sale is when property that was owned by the […]

Estate Planning, Probate

How Does Probate of Real Estate Work?

October 23, 2020

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

  Probate is the legal process that ensures your debts are paid and legal title of your assets is transferred to the appropriate heirs and beneficiaries. If you have a will, the probate process will determine whether the will is authentic and valid.    The last will and testament of the person who created it, […]

Estate Planning, Probate

What Are the Roles and Responsibilities of the Probate Judge?

October 23, 2020

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

  Probate is the legal process that ensures your debts are paid and legal title of your assets is transferred to the appropriate heirs and beneficiaries. If you have a will, the probate process will determine whether the will is authentic and valid. During the process, an executor will be appointed to administer the estate. […]

Estate Planning, Probate

What is the Uniform Probate Code?

October 23, 2020

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

  Probate is the legal process that ensures your debts are paid and legal title of your assets is transferred to the appropriate heirs and beneficiaries. If you have a will, the probate process will determine whether the will is authentic and valid. During the process, an executor will be appointed to administer the estate. […]

Estate Planning, Probate

How to Probate a Will Without An Attorney

October 23, 2020

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

  Probate is the legal process that ensures your debts are paid and legal title to your assets is transferred to the appropriate heirs and beneficiaries. If you have a will, the probate process will determine whether the will is authentic and valid. During the process, an executor will be appointed to administer the estate. […]

Estate Planning, Probate

What is a Probate Lawyer/Attorney and Why Do I Need One?

October 23, 2020

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

  A probate lawyer, or probate attorney, guides the executors of an estate through the probate process.   Usually, when a probate lawyer is hired, he or she handles all the paperwork and proceedings in court. A probate lawyer also can advise the executor on actions the executor must take and guide the executor through […]

Estate Planning, Probate

What is Probate Court and What Happens at a Probate Court Hearing?

October 23, 2020

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

  Probate is the legal process that ensures your debts are paid and legal title to your assets is transferred to the appropriate heirs and beneficiaries. If you have a will, the probate process will determine whether the will is authentic and valid.    What is a Probate Court? A probate court is a judicial […]

Estate Planning, Probate

What is the Cost of Probate?

October 23, 2020

Publication: Retirement Watch Weekly

  Probate is the legal process that ensures your debts are paid and legal title of your assets is transferred to the appropriate heirs and beneficiaries. If you have a will, the probate process determines whether the will is authentic and valid. Probate is required for all estates, whether or not you have a will, […]