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Roger Billings, Estate Planning Attorney -
Recent Posts
- Is a Conservatorship Right for Your Family? Part 1: Disadvantages
- Responding to Probate Court Petitions
- The Election’s Impact on Estate Planning
- Does it Count as Book Burning When it is a Book of Legal Citation Formats?
- Courts Increasing Scrutiny of Conservatorships
- Getting a Conservatorship Protected Their Mother
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Tag Archives: Estate Planning
What is a Pour-Over Will? – Estate Planning Basics
It is time to get back to basics. A Living Trust takes the place of a Will. The Trust specifies how the estate is going to be disposed and who has the responsibility for carrying out its instructions. See … Continue reading
Posted in Estate Planning, Estate Planning Basics, Living Trusts, Probate, Trust Funding, Wills
Tagged Basics, Estate Planning, Pour-Over Wills, Probate, Suspenders, Trust Funding, Wills
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The Bottom Line for Estate Plans
Lynn Balou, a financial planner in the San Francisco Bay area, published an update of important points to consider in estate planning. Her final exhortation summarizes well the purpose and effect of a good estate plan: Bottom line: Each of … Continue reading
Posted in Estate Planning, Living Trusts, Wills
Tagged avoid intestacy, Estate Planning
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Mistakes to Avoid in Beneficiary Designations
Many conscientious estate planners, who prepare careful and complete estate plans, give little thought to beneficiary designations for retirement accounts or life insurance policies. Sandra Feingerts of the Fisher & Phillips law firm has prepared a useful list of mistakes … Continue reading
Posted in Beneficiary Designations, Estate Planning, Retirement
Tagged Beneficiary Designations, Estate Planning, life insurance, Retirement Planning
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Adding Your Child to Your Bank Account is Not Such a Great Idea
A common means of avoiding probate is to put your child’s name on all of your accounts. This can create some serious problems, not least of which is if a creditor goes after your child’s assets and is able to … Continue reading
Posted in Beneficiary Designations, Estate Planning, Living Trusts, Probate
Tagged Beneficiary Designations, Estate Planning, Living Trust, Probate
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Birthdays and estate planning
You’re another year young. After all, birthdays are just a number, just a box on the calendar. Right? But sometimes birthdays start us thinking. Thinking about the past and the future, thinking about how old we are getting. Rather than … Continue reading
Posted in Estate Planning
Tagged Estate Planning, Updates
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Think Twice Before Giving It All Away
Whether assets are inherited at death or given away while you are still alive, the federal estate tax exemption is essentially the same, currently $5,340,000 per person. But the effect of capital gains tax may be the deciding factor. The … Continue reading
Posted in Estate Planning, Federal Estate Taxes, Gifting
Tagged Basis, Capital Gains Tax, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Gifting
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Not All Deeds Are Created Equal: An Estate Planning Vocabulary Tip
“Great acts are made up of small deeds.” Lao Tzu In the legal world, the word “deed” is confusing. Used by itself, it usually refers to a document transferring title to real estate. There are different types of such … Continue reading
Posted in Estate Planning, Living Trusts, Real Estate, Trust Funding
Tagged Estate Planning, Property Deeds, Real Estate, Trust Funding
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