Planning with Retirement Plans, Annuities, and Life Insurance

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

Retirement plans, annuities, and life insurance policies are great tools to accumulate and protect wealth for some people. However, all investments require some attention to details regarding beneficiary designations and ownership choices. None of these tools fits everyone and some tools can be inappropriate for some people. A knowledgeable estate planning attorney uses these financial […]

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Gift Legends & Myths About Nursing Homes, Medicaid & Taxes

Posted on May 25, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] We began writing about estate planning and elder law topics almost 13 years ago because we kept hearing people recite laws and rules that either did not exist or did not work the way people thought. Even some lawyers have misunderstood rules about gifts and […]

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Planning For Minor Children & Multi-Generational Objectives

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Estate planning includes planning with wills and trusts to pass money and possessions from one generation to the next. Too often, an older generation ignores the effect of its plans upon younger generations. That poor foresight allows poorly planned inheritance to vanish quickly, sometimes without […]

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Joint Bank Accounts & Other Property Transfers To Survivors – Part 2

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] This article concludes a two-part series of about joint bank accounts and other kinds of asset co-ownership (click here to read Part 1). Joint Accounts – Name Sequence Some people mistakenly think that it makes a difference whether someone’s name appears first or second on […]

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For How Long Should You Keep Records?

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Clients ask from time to time how long they should keep copies of their records. They often say that they have heard that you should keep records for 3 years or 7 years or 10 years. This article provides record retention guidelines for various purposes […]

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Estate Plan Checkups – You Probably Need One

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Planning for death or nursing home care unnerves some people so much that they never reconsider their plans or they avoid planning altogether. Many people assume (incorrectly) that their wills or trusts need no updates. Laws and family situations change enough that 5-year-old wills and […]

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Sign Here – But Beware

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] We Americans are very agreeable people. We make agreements with hospitals and doctors to deliver our children and with funeral directors to bury our parents. Some simple agreements only require common knowledge. In other cases, however, seemingly simple agreements may have important, permanent consequences. It […]

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WILL VS. TRUST – Which Do You Need?

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Estate planning clients express surprise sometimes by our response to the question: “Do I need a will or trust?” We often respond: “Both!” Most plans should include will to ensure that assets pass to the intended beneficiaries. We always use a will in concert with […]

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