When it comes to stewardship over people or property, there is a lot to consider both personally and legally. At times when the legality of such things is challenged, it can present difficulty to multiple parties. It is always wise to walk such roads with a trusted divorce and family lawyer or … [Read more...]
NM Guardianship Cases – Plan Ahead with a Trust
New Mexico’s guardianship and conservatorship cases are clouded in secrecy. Once decisions are made by the court, family members are effectively locked out of receiving information. And in many instances, this has huge economic effects on the estate. In November, 2016, the Albuquerque … [Read more...]
Do I need a Guardianship or Conservatorship Over My Mom?
We can’t make financial or health decisions for another person without proper planning or a court order. This is true even for our closest of relatives – our parents, our adult children. I recently met with “Bill” who explained that his 80 year old mother’s memory was deteriorating over the last 6 … [Read more...]
Why You Need a Living Trust
In this fourth and final installment of my four-part series on why you need a living trust, I will look at why the fourth reason offered by the aforementioned business publication doesn’t make any sense. ~ There may be unforeseen consequences ~ The article states that having a trust where you and/or … [Read more...]
Planning for Incapacity
The thought of incapacity is unpleasant, thus many people fail to plan for the consequences of incapacitation. Incapacity can be the result of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, but it can also happen suddenly due to a stroke or an accident. The issues that surround incapacity are not limited to … [Read more...]
Tom Brokaw’s Living Will:
The purpose of this blog is to recommend every American to outline directives for doctors to follow if they were ever in a Terry Schiavo situation. If you are unfamiliar with the Terry Schiavo case, a quick summary here will suffice: Terry Schiavo suffered a cardiac arrest in her home in … [Read more...]
The King’s Estate – B.B. King, That Is
Even before blues legend B. B. King passed on May 15, 2015 at the age of 89, dark clouds hung over his estimated $10 million estate. King is survived by eleven of his children, though King granted Power of Attorney to his longtime business manager, Laverne Toney. About a month ago, one of King’s … [Read more...]
How Can I Protect My Children’s Inheritances from Divorce or Creditors?
Typically, a will provides that a person’s assets will be distributed to his or her children upon that person’s death. If a beneficiary trust were used instead of a will, the inheritance can be protected from the ex-spouses or creditors of the beneficiary. With a beneficiary trust, the beneficiary … [Read more...]
Non-Tax Reasons for a Estate Plan
While taxes are an important element of estate planning, especially for those subject to state or federal estate taxes, consider the following important non-tax reasons to plan. Incapacity. Are you going to become incapacitated? Of course, we don’t have a crystal ball to tell us the answer, so … [Read more...]
Protecting Your Children
My wife and I protect our son. We may even be called over –protective. If we can find clothing made out of bubble wrap, we would most likely get an entire wardrobe for him. Right now, he is only four-years old. So our protection scheme is very hands on – one of us stays close to be able to … [Read more...]
