Category: Estate Administration/Probate

Top 3. Estate Planning Docs. Can Devastate-Pt. 4

The Top 3 Reasons How Online Estate Planning Documents Can Devastate Your Family and Leave Them In Financial Ruin – Money Can Be A Curse!!

Reason 1: The Pitfalls of Not Getting Legal Advice from an Attorney Can Cause Your Estate Plan to be Defective Because of Wrong Heirs, Wasteful Spending, and Worthless Investments

Arguably one of the biggest reasons why online estate planning documents can devastate your family’s estate plan and leave them in financial ruin is because you don’t get legal advice with do-it-yourself documents.  What most people don’t realize is that the value of an estate plan isn’t just in the documents – it’s in the advice and counsel you get from your estate planning lawyer.  An estate planning lawyer can identify issues that are unique to your financial and personal life that will affect your estate plan.  Some of those issues might include: blended families, predeceased beneficiaries, family drug/alcohol problems, problems with the in-laws, careless spending, worthless investments, and Medicaid planning opportunities. Part I, Part II, and Part III of this series addressed the concerns you might have if the wrong heirs inherited your estate, concerns you might have with wasteful spending and worthless investments, and concerns with outliving your money.  This blog, which addresses the last part of Reason 1, will present an unfortunate, but all too common case study on how do-it-yourself documents can ruin your estate plan.

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What Should You Do When a Loved One Passes Away

If you are dealing with the death of a loved one, it can be a very difficult time for you and your family. Not only can it be difficult for you to mourn the loss, but you may also be unsure of the steps you need to take in the days and weeks following the death. This article can help identify what steps you should take following the death of a loved one.

One important thing to remember is that you should not try to do everything by yourself. When people ask what they can do to help, take advantage of their offer. Therefore, the first thing you should do is contact the immediate family.

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Probate Attorney

Probate 101: All You Need to Know

Whether you’re sitting on a fortune or only possess a few family heirlooms worth more sentimental value than cash, your estate will go through probate after you die. With the help of a good probate attorney, your assets are protected and your possessions end up where you want them to be. Without a basic understanding of the probate process, it’s tough to understand exactly where your money and belongings will go after you die.

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Frequent Flyer Obstacles | Hesch Law

Overcoming Obstacles

Frequent flyer miles can be very beneficial if you love to vacation or need to regularly travel for work. If you have spent countless dollars building up your frequent flyer miles, you would probably want unused miles to become a part of your estate in the event of your death. However, there are many obstacles that need to be considered before your heirs and beneficiaries can take your miles outright.

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Virtual Assets

Estate planning typically involves implementing a strategy of how you will dispose of your physical assets upon your death. Physical assets can include a home, jewelry, furniture, and automobiles.

However, in today’s high-tech world, some of your assets probably cannot be physically accounted for. These assets can exist online, such as if you have an internet business, a blog that generates income from ads, frequent flyer miles, or a cloud depository for precious family photos. Such assets may continue to accrue untouched income for years or disappear altogether, simply because your heirs and beneficiaries don’t know they exist or don’t know where to access them.

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Checking Accounts and Estate Planning | Hesch Law

For purposes of the probate court, there are two different types of property. The first is “non-probate” property, which includes assets like life insurance policies, 401(k) plans, joint deeds of trust, and other assets with named beneficiaries or automatic survivorship rights. The unique feature about this non-probate property is that it passes to a beneficiary outside the court system when the owner of the asset passes away. All other property is considered “probate” property. Probate property must pass through the probate court upon death of the owner. It is important to understand that property as simple as a checking account can end up as either type of property, depending on the structure of the account.

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