Leonard Cohen, the prolific songwriter, singer and poet, died November 7, 2016 at age 82. His well-known songs include Marianne, I’m Your Man, and the iconic Hallelujah. Cohen once said that he turned to songwriting just to pay the bills,…
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Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, aka the King of Rock & Roll, died of cardiac failure on January 12. She was 54. A potential contest for control of her estate has already begun, a mere two…
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Clients often ask us about creating a lady bird deed for them. They have heard that this type of deed can be useful for both Medicaid planning and probate avoidance. While it is true that a lady bird deed confers…
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Oh My God I’m Getting Older And So Is My Mom on July 18 featured Joseph Karp and Jonathan Karp. The father-son lawyer duo had a lively discussion with host Scott Greenberg about some intriguing topics: why some people are…
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We often note in our posts that when leaving an inheritance to children, “equal” is not always “fair.” This applies if your children are adults, and it also applies if one or more of your children are minors. A prudent…
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Welcome back, Snowbirds! We are writing this blog at the tail end of November. Today’s midday temperature in New York is 38 degrees; in Chicago, 34; in Boston, 35. At our Palm Beach Gardens office, it’s a glorious, balmy 70…
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Bob Ross rose to fame in the 1980s as the host and instructor of the wildly popular Joy of Painting TV show. Viewers were smitten not just with his artistic techniques but also with his mesmerizing voice and congenial manner….
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If you are a Florida resident, having a living trust as the cornerstone of your estate plan can offer many benefits. Among them are probate avoidance, privacy, possible tax advantages, and the ability to set conditions on your heirs’ inheritances….
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Multiple marriages, divorces, blended families: These are circumstances that can make it challenging to devise an estate plan that withstands potential claims from disgruntled relatives. And when it comes to marriages, divorces and blended families, few were more familiar with…
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A recent case out of Texas illustrates why the language in your estate planning documents must be crystal clear, and anticipate all future possibilities – possibilities that may not even be on your radar. Ambiguous language can result in family…
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