None of us knows when we will pass away or be placed in a position where we cannot make important decisions for ourselves. This is why we harp on the importance of estate planning and, at a minimum, having a legally valid Will to spell out how you wish to distribute your assets upon your…
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You thought you had everything squared away. You spent months working with an estate planning attorney to create a trust, felt a wave of relief when it was finally signed, and then tucked it away safely in a secure drawer at your house. A year later, during a routine financial meeting, your advisor asked what…
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Many families consider probate a time-consuming, emotional, and costly legal process. To make matters worse in their eyes, they genuinely believe it is unavoidable. In other words, facing it head-on after the death of a loved one is the only way. While it is true that it is often necessary for a probate court to…
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Blended families are beautifully unique. For instance, yours could involve you and your spouse bringing children from previous marriages for a new life together. Meanwhile, someone else’s blended situation may involve one spouse who is new to parenting, or maybe instead of having young kids from a previous relationship, those children are older and have…
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Estate planning is one of the most important things you can do for your family, and the process often goes off without a hitch. That said, even something as selfless as estate planning is not without its share of issues from time to time. Disputes over estates and inheritances can arise for various reasons, from…
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Jack and Faith could not be happier. Sure, they never officially married like their friends did, but they have lived together monogamously for the past 12 years and act like a married couple in every possible way. In fact, they recently began discussing estate planning and the importance of having a plan should one of…
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You are getting divorced, and your lawyer keeps mentioning something called “discovery.” Ah, yes, another one of those legal terms you have heard in passing but know very little about. You want to ask what it means but do not want to come across as uneducated about the legal process. Instead, you nod and hope…
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As one year winds to a close and another begins, now is the perfect time to review your estate plan and ensure everything is in order. This is especially true if it has been a few years since you and your estate planning attorney sat down to craft your Will, Trust, Power of Attorney, and…
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It is a typical Wednesday morning, and as you sit down with your cup of coffee and open your laptop, the first email you notice near the top of your inbox is an invoice from your divorce attorney. You were expecting a bill, so the fact that you have an amount due is far from…
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You have contacted an attorney for help with a complex legal matter—maybe a business dispute, a high-net-worth divorce, or a probate issue. But as the conversation turns to billing, you are caught off guard when they mention they charge by the hour. Sure, you are no expert in how lawyers bill, but you would assume…
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