Blog
Tips for Asset Protection Planning
Asset protection is a means of keeping property safe from creditors. Creditors could be individuals or entities who win a lawsuit against you, or even those your insolvent business owes money to. Asset protection planning involves taking assets that are subject to creditors’ claims and recharacterizing them as assets that are out of the reach…
Jimi Hendrix’s Estate Is Still in Court: Don’t Let That Be You
Jimi Hendrix passed away in 1970, but litigation surrounding his estate continues to this very day. We try and give our clients an idea of how painful, expensive, and unending estate litigation can be, hoping this will motivate them to create or update their estate planning documents. For today’s motivation, here is a condensed view…
Trustees Could End Up Paying Some of the Trust Beneficiaries’ Attorney Fees
A trustee has a very important role. He or she will be in charge of distributing trust assets and managing trust property for the benefit of trust beneficiaries. If a trustee fails to meet these responsibilities, not only will the trustee hurt trust beneficiaries, but he can put himself in a precarious financial position. For…
How Often Should I Update My Estate Plan?
Once your estate plan is completed, we recommend that you revisit it on an annual basis just to make sure everything is squared away. Years fly by, and we easily forget to update our documents despite major family and financial changes. We recommend reviewing it with your attorney at least every five years. Your estate…
The Continuing Battles over the Anna Nicole Smith Estate
Though there is no iron clad measure to ensure your heirs do not fight over your estate, you can definitely minimize the chances thorough estate planning with an experienced attorney. We caution clients to take any precautionary measures possible to avoid estate litigation, as this process is costly and can take years. Perhaps the epitome…
Don’t Wait to Fully Fund Your Trust!
We cannot emphasize enough that in order for your Trust to be effective, it needs to be fully funded during your lifetime. Your trust will be considered fully funded when all your assets are transferred into the name of the trust. If a trust is fully funded, then there is nothing left to pass through…
Casey Kasem and the Healthcare Directive
Legendary radio personality Casey Kasem died on June 15th of 2014. In his last few months, Kasem had been suffering from Lewy body disease, the most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s. Simultaneously, he was the subject of a bitter court battle involving three of his children from a previous marriage and his current…
Business Owners Beware: Creditors Can Potentially Go After Your Personal Assets
One of our main concerns in the estate planning process is asset protection. There are unique asset protection concerns for our estate planning clients who own businesses. For example, did you know that if you own a business, even if you operate a corporation or limited liability company, the business’s creditors could potentially go after…
Do You Have An Aversion to Trusts?
Philip Seymour Hoffman repeatedly rejected the advice of his attorney and accountant, both of whom advised him to create a trust. It is said he did so because he did not want his three children to be “trust funds kids.” For those of you who may be avoiding creating a trust because you do not…
What are the New Rules for Longevity Insurance?
If you are in the process of estate planning, you may be interested in the new rules about longevity insurance. In this article, we explain what longevity insurance is and how the new rules make it more available. Longevity insurance or longevity annuity is a new buzz-word for a type of deferred-income annuity that will…