"Mishandled, estate and/or trust administration can cause family rifts; on the other hand, competent and careful management helps keep family memories happy and purpose-intact," Margaret A. Munro and Kathryn A Murphy explain in Estate and Trust Administration for...
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At Geyer Law, Planning for Veterans and Survivors Continues
The VA projects that the number of living veterans will continue to decline over the next 25 years, Katherine Schaeffer observes in a piece by the Pew Research Center, and the share of the U.S. population with military experience has declined to less than 6%. "Thank...
Tax Law Changes Don’t Diminish the Value of Donor-Advised Funds
Donor-advised funds are charitable investment accounts that individuals or families can use exclusively for the support of charities they care about. These funds can be opened with a minimum gift of $5,000 and have significantly lower administrative burden and costs...
The Stuff of Estate Planning
Millions will soon inherit a house full of sentimental items, Kathy Barnes notes in Better Homes and Gardens. But the transfer of physical belongings can cause overwhelm and stress. Our older generations want to know that their belongings will be appreciated. Heirs...
Grandparents Often Play a Supporting Role
Last week in our Geyer Law blog, discussing college planning after a parent dies, we discussed the important role college funding plays in estate planning for both parents and grandparents. A recent piece in Kiplinger's, in contrast, discusses the very broad - perhaps...
College Planning After a Parent Dies
"And no matter what, there's not one thing in this world or the next that we can do or hope or guess at or wish or pray that can change it or help it one iota," James Agee wrote in the book A Death in the Family. "The loss of a spouse can upend a family's future,"...
The Family Rift Avoidance Function of Estate Planning
Only last week, our nation remembered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the civil rights movement and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, whose life was cut short in 1968, at age 39, by an assassin's bullet.Some forty years later, a headline in July 19, 2008 NBC...
The Give-and-Take of Smart Estate Planning
Both givers and receivers need to be strategic about communicating when it comes to estate planning and wealth transfer, John Vandergriff emphasizes in a Kiplinger article. On the other hand, he notes, "The reality is that not everyone wants their children to know...
Not Only On-Paper, but In-Person Estate Planning
"Don't just pass down the cash," Leslie Gillin Bohner cautions Kiplinger readers, emphasizing what we've been emphasizing to our Geyer Law estate planning clients for more than a quarter century. Benefits of in-person family estate planning conferences: From a...
The Pay-Now-Use-Later Approach to LTC
As Indiana elder law attorneys, we know that long-term care planning has an important place in both retirement and estate planning, and at Geyer Law, we make every effort to help clients take charge of their finances and protect both themselves and their heirs...

