Online web sites that allow the creation of do-it-yourself estate planning documents have some serious downsides. Among them: making it easier for people with nefarious motives to create fraudulent documents. From Arkansas comes an interesting case that illustrates the danger….
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A recent case from California demonstrates two important guidelines to make sure that your assets go to the people you want after you’re gone. They are: Everything you do must conform precisely to the required legal formalities. Don’t procrastinate! Here’s…
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More and more Americans are living on their own. The 2018 U.S. census revealed that there 110.6 million unmarried people over the age of 18. Of them, 63% have never been married; 23% are divorced; 13% are widowed. Most live…
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Americans collecting Social Security benefits are slated to receive a cost of living increase in 2020. Benefits will increase by 1.6%. The average retiree’s monthly benefit will increase about $24, from $1,473 to to $1,503. Also, the Social Security tax…
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This is not the forum to discuss the lurid details of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Others are doing a thorough job of that. However, there is one aspect of the saga with direct relevance to our readers: how trusts can…
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A safe deposit box can be a good place to store the documents that you and your loved ones will not need in a hurry. Examples include birth certificates, deeds, car titles, etc. It may surprise you to learn that…
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Increasing numbers of people are fleeing high tax states for lower-tax environments such as Florida. People have always moved to Florida to escape estate taxes and income taxes, of course. However, the migration has kicked into higher gear of late…
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Floridians are continuously warned about probate. Make sure your family never has to deal with probate court! It’s expensive! It’s inconvenient! Is all this just hype? Or is probate really a problem? Should you build probate avoidance into your estate…
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Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, Dies Intestate. Now it turns out that the “intestate” part may not be true. Three handwritten wills were found in Franklin’s suburban Detroit home recently. This development may well complicate matters, not clarify them. Multiple…
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It’s been as much a Shakespearean tragedy as a legal battle over an elderly billionaire’s assets. The story features power grabs, on-again, off-again lovers, betrayal, and money… lots and lots of money. In my post of 2016 I described the…
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