Thinking of naming minor children as beneficiaries of your life insurance policy, retirement account, or investment account? Think again. While minors can certainly inherit assets, they are still legally ineligible to manage those assets. If no trust or guardianship...
beneficiary designations
Wine and Estate Planning — More Similar Than You Think
"Wine and investing are more similar than you think", Bryce Sanders tells financial advisors, suggesting they use wine-related analogies to create "aha" moments in conversations with their clients. Interestingly, several of the analogies Sanders mention apply to the...
Heirs and Trustees — Keeping the Trust
Estate planning, truth is, involves an effort to look into the future, anticipating others' needs and helping reduce heartaches and hassle for family members. Last week, in our Geyer Law blog post, "Leaving Legacies, Not Burdens", we discussed "problem assets" that...
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...
Another Look at “Bucketing” Your Estate Plan
“Bucketing” is a way to give form and function to estate planning, anticipating not only your own future needs, but those of your beneficiaries at different stages of their lives.
The 25-or-Thrive Parent Retirement-Planning Challenge
When adult children become dependent on their parents for financial support, parents’ estate planning needs to be adjusted to those realities.
“Bucketing” Your Estate Plan
Bucketing one’s estate plan means anticipating heirs’ needs at different states in their lives.

