Estate Plans Must Clarify “Right Things”

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Hawkins Elder Law.

When an estate plan depends on someone to “do the right thing,” someone will inevitably dispute

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Trust Protector to the Rescue

Posted on January 14, 2017 by Hawkins Elder Law.

The basic purpose for estate planning is to prepare for future situations by empowering people to solve problems or adapt to changing circumstances. Unfortunately, this old planning truism still applies: The finest plans of mice and men often fall apart and leave us with only grief and pain instead of joyful hearts. (Our paraphrased excerpt […]

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In Financial & Healthcare Decisions, “Trust, But Verify”

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Many people today struggle with how to invest money and what to do when a family member faces a health crisis. When you lack expertise for urgent financial and healthcare decisions, take decision-making advice from former US President Ronald Reagan: “trust, but verify.” Mr. Reagan […]

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Trustworthy Trusts?

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[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. […]

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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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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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Estate and Trust Beneficiary Expectations

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[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 […]

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Estate Planning: Avoiding Confusion

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Hawkins Elder Law.

[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Many people who think of “probate” or an “estate” think of heirs arguing over a deceased person’s wealth. Thankfully, most estates are not contested and they lack Hollywood-style drama. Estate disputes usually involve unclearly worded wills or inconsistent statements about estate plan intentions from the […]

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