There are many different legal devices that can be used when you are planning your estate. A lot of people do not understand this, and this leads them to the belief that they can simply use do-it-yourself downloads to create their own wills. In reality, your plan should be constructed to meet your specific needs. … [Read More]
What Are the Responsibilities of the Probate Court?
As estate planning and elder law attorneys, we are intimately connected to the probate court. One of the major functions of the court is to provide supervision when an estate is being administered. If you use a last will to express your final wishes, you name an executor in the document. This estate representative would … [Read More]
Avoid These Estate Planning Missteps
We have worked with families that are trying to deal with estate planning mistakes that were made by loved ones. Because of this experience, we are aware of the missteps that people commonly take, and we will share a couple of them here in an effort to raise awareness. Intestacy Surveys that measure the estate … [Read More]
Is Charitable Giving Part of Your Estate Plan?
When you are planning your estate, you have a lot to think about, and your family will invariably come first. This being stated, charitable giving can be quite meaningful on a personal level when you support causes and/or institutions that are doing good things for others. When you work charitable giving into your estate plan, … [Read More]
What Happens If a Will Beneficiary Dies?
When you are planning your estate, you should thoroughly think everything through, because events do not always fall into place as expected. We will look at one of these unexpected circumstances in this post, and we will provide a solution. Deceased Beneficiary When you are drawing up a will, you can include a survivorship clause. … [Read More]
Estate of Musician Prince Has Finally Been Settled
When high-profile celebrities with a lot of money pass away, the press knows that people are interested in the estate details. They dig through them if they are available, and they are widely publicized. This is an intrusion of privacy, but mistakes that are made can be instructive. This dynamic definitely applies to the 2016 … [Read More]
Is a Living Will Similar to a Living Trust?
There are some overlapping terms used in the field of estate planning, and this can lead to misconceptions. With this in mind, we are going to look at the difference between a living will and a living trust in this post. Wills and Trusts for Asset Transfers Most people are aware of the fact that … [Read More]
College Savings Accounts Demystified
If you want to set aside assets for the college education of your child or grandchild, you have to navigate a maze of numbers and acronyms. It can be quite confusing, but we will demystify the subject in this post. Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) Accounts The uniform Gifts to Minors Act is a … [Read More]
These Trusts Can Provide Estate Tax Efficiency
The estates of high-net-worth individuals can be heavily impacted by estate taxes. We are using the plural because there is a federal estate tax, and there is also a Connecticut state-level estate tax. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to mitigate damage if your estate is exposed. Estate Tax Exclusions There is a … [Read More]
Will My Estate Go Through Probate?
The process of probate can be a factor when an estate is being administered. It serves a purpose, but it is time consuming, and the beneficiaries do not receive inheritances while the estate is being probated by the contact form on this site you can use if you would prefer to send us a message. [Read More]
( By appointment only )