There are a number of ways that grandparents can help with the increasingly high cost of a college education (not to mention graduate school costs) for their grandchildren. If you want to ease that financial burden for your grandchildren (and their parents), it’s...
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Month: February 2020
What happens when a deceased person has past-due income taxes?
People generally have to pay income taxes regardless of how much they earn or the source of their income. They file an annual income tax return to reconcile what they paid with their final financial information for the year. However, some people become complacent...
Pros and cons of unequal bequests
When parents draft estate plans, they do not always leave the same amount of assets to every beneficiary. This is known as leaving unequal bequests, and it has been growing more common over the years. Rather than giving four children 25% ownership of the family home,...
What traits should an executor possess?
Documents such as wills and trusts are a very important part of estate planning. They provide instructions on how an individual’s assets will be addressed upon their death. However, documents are only one part of the process. The individuals tasked with carrying out...
What is the role of Totten trusts in estate planning?
People who are creating an estate plan need to determine the best methods for ensuring their chosen beneficiaries will receive the specific assets the creator wants them to get. There are several estate plan components that can accomplish this. Some assets can be...
Avoiding probate with a trust
Most estates will pass through probate. This is a court-administered process supervising the execution of a deceased’s estate. It can take months, or in complex cases, years. During this time the beneficiaries will be unable to access the assets they are due to...
3 tips to lower the odds of estate disputes
After you pass away, your adult children could get involved in an estate dispute. This is something that many parents worry about because they don’t want siblings to become estranged or to have a long-term falling out over their inheritance. How do you prevent this...
Why those with trusts may also need pour-over wills
There are numerous documents people can use when drafting an estate plan. Some of them take effect while the testator is still alive, while others only have authority after their death. Testamentary documents that gain authority after someone's passing are often the...
A trust gives you control over an inheritance
If you just leave an inheritance to someone in your will, you don’t have any control over how they use it. They won’t get it until you pass away, and then they will take direct ownership. If you give a beneficiary $50,000, they could spend it on anything from a...
Can you ignore a no-contest clause?
A no-contest clause essentially means that beneficiaries are not allowed to challenge an estate plan. If they do, then they don’t get an inheritance. For example, say that there are two beneficiaries, one who receives $100,000 and another who receives $500,000. The...