When it comes to nursing homes and Medicaid, you often hear about “asset protection.” It’s a hot topic—who wouldn’t want to protect their assets? But asset protection is complex, and if something goes wrong your finances and your family could be in a lot of trouble. Protecting an asset means giving up control. At its […]
If you have a family member who is disabled, you’ll need to take that into account in your estate planning. It’s a common situation, but it’s important to provide for your disabled beneficiaries in a different way. Why do I need to plan differently for disabled family members? There are two main problems with giving […]
“Do I need a trust?” It’s about the most common question I get. Trusts are one of the most complicated, confusing, and misunderstood pieces of estate planning. In this and following articles, I’m going to break them down and make trusts simple. First up: taking a step back to talk about what a trust is. […]
Traditional estate planning is not simple, and a big reason for that is meetings. Traditional meetings are on the lawyer’s terms Traditional estate planning involves three to four meetings (usually), over the course of six to eight weeks. All of these meetings are: In person, At the lawyer’s office, and During business hours. Some people […]
The no. 2 reason for not having a will is “I don’t have enough assets to leave to anyone.” But it’s a misconception that estate planning is only about who gets your assets. That’s just one part—and often not the most important.
Most people, when you ask them, want their estate planning to be one thing: simple. Seasoned lawyers will tell you that “simple” really means “cheap.” Don’t bother with people who worry about your fee is their advice. But that advice is, in part, why so many people don’t have an estate plan. When people want […]
Sir Ernest Gowers wrote Plain Words, a guide for the British Civil Service on how to write to members of the public. That is, he was telling bureaucrats how to “explain the law to the millions.” He gave three elementary rules: Be short. Be simple. Be human. Later in the book, he added a fourth: […]