No one wants to think about what might happen to their college-bound kids in an emergency. Despite this, all parents should have a plan in place in the unlikely event they will need to make medical or financial decisions on behalf of their college-student children. There are a few very simple and often overlooked steps parents and guardians can take to ensure they are legally authorized to act for their children in the event of an emergency: Have their child execute a Designa

Are you stumped on a Father’s Day gift? Consider thoughtful gifts that improve his daily routine or give him the gift of creating new memories with an experience that he’ll never forget. Not all dads are into self-care but we all know they could use a break. Here are a few ideas: Up his cool factor with a new gadget. Amazon Echo Dot, so he can get his jam on. Yeti Tumbler, good for hot and cold drinks anytime. Noise cancelling headphones, perfect for some much-needed quiet ti

Vesting title can determine what happens to your property, whether it will be subject to probate and how it may be treated by creditors.

Even if you die without a will, your estate will still be distributed to your heirs. How it is distributed, however, is entirely outside of your power. Dying without a will is called dying intestate. Each state has their own laws regarding intestate succession. It is generally a streamlined process that follows a set of checks prior to making distributions. If you have assets wrapped up in a living trust, or other non-probate tool, then those assets will follow the distributi

Joint Tenancy What is it? Ownership of property can be held by multiple people at a time. Depending on how the ownership is set up, the disposition of the property at the time of death will vary. This is generally afforded to real property and bank accounts. Joint tenancy involves a right of survivorship. Put simply, this means that the portion of the property that is owned by one party will automatically vest equally in the other owners at that party’s time of death – avoidi

Estate planning is much more than just signing a will. In fact, there are a myriad of estate planning tools available. Several of these options should be considered in tandem with using a will to dispose of assets as many of them offer benefits that a will cannot provide. Trusts Often dubbed “will substitutes,” living revocable trusts provide many benefits over wills – most notably, property in a trust may pass to a beneficiary without formal probate administration; whereas,

The impact of COVID-19 has far reaching and dramatic implications. The associated stress and anxiety are understandable. It is an uncertain time and our daily activities and the norms we take for granted as a society have been completely disrupted. Any increasing concern is whether our families are prepared for a pandemic, including whether there are potential impacts from not having an estate plan, will or powers of attorney in place. The vast majority of Americans do not ha