Estate Plans Must Clarify “Right Things”
When an estate plan depends on someone to “do the right thing,” someone will inevitably dispute
Avoiding Probate is Easy – But Not Always Wise
[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 […]
Costly Delay: Importance of Mental Capacity in Estate Planning
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Too people say about estate planning, “I’m not ready for that yet.” A person must be able to think clearly enough to make a will, trust, power of attorney, deed, health care directive or other estate plan document. As we wrote in our blog article, […]
Estate Planning Is More Than Forms
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Several years ago, our daughter’s kindergarten teacher shared with us a simplistic job description that our daughter gave to the class about her lawyer parents. When asked what her parents did for a living, our daughter said, “They type and click.” Many people have a […]
Trust Protector to the Rescue
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 […]
Long Road Through Loss, Grief, and Recovery
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] We attended the recent funeral of the beautiful matriarch of a family that we have known and loved for many years. Our dear friends expressed mixed feelings of loss from the death of their beloved mother and grandmother, and joy because her death released her […]
FAMILY FEUD – AVOIDABLE?
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Do all families fight about money when their members die? We have all heard stories of feuding families, but in more than two decades of estate and trust practice, the attorneys at Hawkins Law PC have only seen a few families fight openly. Most families […]
Scavenger Hunt – Finding Stuff After Someone’s Death or Health Crisis
[See our Disclaimers page about relying on this website’s contents.] Managing someone else’s business when they die or become disabled can take you on a scavenger hunt. You may not know what you need to find or where to find it. To make a tough job worse, privacy laws severely limit the ability of banks […]
Estate Planning: Avoiding Confusion
[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 […]
