“Fancy estate plan binders hide weak contents” should be a mantra for estate planning lawyers and their clients. We have heard clients praise the appearance of leather estate plan binders; especially binders embossed with gold lettering, Unfortunately, most of those clients pay dearly for weak estate plan is that did not address their issues adequately, […]

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] We have heard people tell us for decades that they want to “avoid probate.” They say it as if they want to avoid cancer. Most people have no idea what it is that they think they should avoid. Fewer people know that the “probate” concept […]

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Financial experts often say that if you die without a last will and testament, the state will decide who gets your assets. That statement is true if you die owning assets without joint owners and without naming beneficiaries of bank accounts, insurance policies, retirement plans, […]

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Trusts have become the some of the most widely known and misunderstood documents in estate planning practice today. Skilled trust lawyers use them to help their clients achieve their estate plan goals. Do-it-yourselfers misuse them to avoid “probate” and create wealth sinkholes that devour assets. […]

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] This article is the first part of a two-part series of about joint bank accounts and other kinds of ownership of bank accounts and investments (Click here to read Part 2). We have seen many avoidable cases of error, fraud, and abuse over the years. […]

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Hollywood must love the will opening “ceremony” because it has recycled the familiar scene repeatedly on the silver screen (Mommy Dearest,  Brewster’s Millions, The Ultimate Gift, etc.). The plot usually either begins or climaxes when a lawyer announces that some unrelated person receives almost all […]