“In the first few weeks after the death,” attorneys Liza Hanks and Carol Elias Zolla warn trustees and executors in the book The Trustee’s Legal Companion, “you should pick up the phone and notify the Social Security Administration of the death by calling 1...
Prince’s Copyrights Pose Estate Settlement Challenge
“Prince died without a will, according to court documents filed by his sister on Tuesday, potentially causing big complications for that star’s sprawling financial estate and musical legacy,” the New York Timesreports. Why is a will so crucial in settling an estate?...
Saying “No, Thank You” to an Inheritance
“There are several reasons why a beneficiary might disclaim a bequest,” Theodore Hughes and David Klein explain in The Executor’s Handbook. Those reasons include: Another survivor has a great need. (If Robert Smith’s brother leaves him $100,000, and Robert doesn’t...
Wills – What They Will and Will Not Cover
“Once you place property in one of the following forms of ownership, listing that property in your will has no effect,” Denis Clifford explains in Plan Your Estate. Clifford is referring to: Living trust Joint tenancy property Pay-on-death bank accounts Life insurance...
How Set In Stone is an Irrevocable Trust?
“Irrevocable trusts, by their very nature, do not change – at least that’s what we tend to think,” Trevor Chuna, CPF®, observes in the Journal of Financial Planning. But since a trust is a vehicle used to transfer and manage assets to meet the objectives of the...
If-Only Estate Planning Story #3: Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship Planning May Not Be Good For Children
Cinderella’s real parents were not bad people;they simply failed to properly plan, explains California attorney Ahmed Shakh. And proper planning for stepchildren has to involve estate planning attorneys,Shakh points out. After all, state legislatures and the Federal...
If-Only Estate Planning Story #2: Keeping Mastery of the Kingdom
“King Lear’s tragedy can teach us about estate planning,” observes California attorney Ralph Hughes. The estate planning lesson Hughes suggests we need to keep in mind is simply this: You won’t always be master of your kingdom. But these are your assets. Shouldn’t you...
If-Only Estate Planning Story #1: Where There’s a WIll, There’s Less Need for Litigation
It’s been almost twenty years since attorney Larry Inlow was killed by a helicopter blade, but the disputes about his estate went on for fourteen years, all the way to the Indiana Supreme Court. Anyone who’s put off creating a will needs to hear the Inlow story again....
Don’t Let a House of Trouble Be Your Legacy
“Dividing a home among siblings takes planning and cooperation,” cautions Caroline E. Mayer, writing in the AARP Bulletin. Mayer recounts the 17-year family rift created among Olivia Boyce-Abel and her three siblings when their mother died, leaving an old family...
Post-Death Social Security Benefits
Social Security benefits are typically seen as a source of retirement money for workers, but children, grandchildren, spouses caring for children, and parents of deceased workers may also qualify for Social Security aid, explains Paul Norr, writing in Financial...
