What is an Estate and an Estate Plan? When people hear the word “estate,” some may think of movie-like mansions, sprawled across the mountains with swimming pools and acres of land. However, an estate refers to any assets that you have. This means anything that belongs to you. An estate plan contains a variety of [...]
An individual has recently passed away, and has money remaining in his or her bank account. Can anyone just walk over to that bank or an ATM and take the money out? The answer is no. Once an individual has died, there are steps which need to be taken in order to be able to [...]
Funeral and burial expenses are things you just don't like to think about. If not the expenses, then at the very least, you don't like it because you're saying goodbye to someone you've loved or cared for greatly in your lifetime. If those don't even move the needle, then think about this: the decedent's estate [...]
Understanding how to probate can be difficult. It's by design, but it's also done to make sure everything is taken into account. The process is long and arduous, with many forms to be filled, appearances in court that need to be made, and that's just the tip of the iceberg that is this process. But, [...]
For our generation, estate planning is often the last thing on our minds. Many millennials are struggling to make ends meet, overwhelmed by student loans and trying to get their finances in order. However, a proper estate plan can provide financial security for your loved ones and carry out your wishes following your death or [...]
A will is a record of an individual's assets and where and whom they are distributed to. Over time, our society has adopted more interpretations of wills. There's oral wills, written wills, holographic wills and more. There was even a story of a man writing his will on a tractor that crushed and killed [...]
It's always been understood that with a joint bank account, both co-owners have equal access to the funds within that account. However, there are times when one of the co-owners takes action that presents ramifications for the other co-owner. Sometimes, there are instances when the co-owner taking the money does so without respectfully communicating with [...]
In this day and age, people in need of an answer live by the saying, “Google it.” However, when it comes to the future of your assets, why would you let the future of those assets be determined by Googling how to put together an estate plan yourself, when a probate law firm can do [...]
There's a popular "game" known as "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon." Part of what people call "Bacon's Law," the goal of this game is to try and find how an actor or individual is linked to famous actor, Kevin Bacon. The game merely seeks to identify how closely related an individual is to the Footloose [...]
Earlier this year, we talked about Tom Petty's estate and how family drama has reached a boiling point. Daughter Adria and widow Dana York Petty have been entangled in the estate of the late rock icon for at least a year and a half now. At first, we talked about how Adria and her sister [...]
