Category: Estate Planning

What is a Small Estate?

Guest post by Julie Nichols, JD/MSW

Probate is the legal process of what happens to someone’s property (their estate) after they die. The term also refers to the administration of that estate – the things that have to be done after a death so that ownership of all of the decedent’s property can be transferred to those who are entitled to it.

Probate proceedings are not always required (although there will always be some necessary paperwork). Sometimes ownership of assets passes automatically to pre-determined individuals.  Continue reading “What is a Small Estate?”

Estate Planning: Protect Yourself From Accidentally Remarrying Your Ex And Leaving Them Everything!

A recent Colorado case makes clear that you should revise your will and make your status with your ex very obvious or risk a probate case after you die. As a firm that handles divorces and wills, we know how this can play out and ALWAYS advise our clients to update their estate planning documents after divorce. The following is a tale of woe that involves someone who did not follow this advice. Continue reading “Estate Planning: Protect Yourself From Accidentally Remarrying Your Ex And Leaving Them Everything!”

Is It Time to Give Up the Car Keys?

Guest post by Pamela D. Wilson, advocate for family and professional caregivers. 

We love our cars.  Some of us love the type of car we own and the way it looks: sporty, shiny or compact. For others it’s the way our cars make us feel when we’re driving: a convertible with the wind blowing through our hair. Others love the ability to jump in the car and go for a drive: the freedom and mobility a car provides.

car keys

 

Continue reading “Is It Time to Give Up the Car Keys?”

Why You Should Arrange Estate Planning in 2018

As you look ahead to the New Year, you might set new goals or make resolutions dealing with your health, wealth and happiness. But the start of the year is also a great time to get organized with estate planning. Sure, it’s great to save some money or make your first big parents reading to soninvestment with a new home. But you work hard to make that possible! So make sure you have a say in what happens to it if something happens to you. As K.P. Edwards wrote in “Financial Counseling and Planning,” “Estate planning has long been recognized as an important part of financial planning for families.”

Contrary to popular belief, you are never too young, too healthy or too single to have a will, and you don’t need to have kids to justify drafting one either. Continue reading “Why You Should Arrange Estate Planning in 2018”

How Technology Can Help With Long-Distance Caregiving

 The following is a guest post by Marie Villeza of ElderImpact.org. Her mission is to empower seniors against ageism by providing information they need to keep control of their own lives. Marie developed ElderImpact.org to provide seniors and their caregivers with resources and advice.

The famous Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” When the world and its technologies move so fast, we struggle to keep up — sometimes we resist it — but our life can be easier if we embrace the changes of time’s innovations and learn to use them. The modern world has certainly made long-distance communication more convenient, and if you are care for an elderly parent from far away, you may have some help. Continue reading “How Technology Can Help With Long-Distance Caregiving”

Probation Litigation: Guardians, Conservators and Estate Issues

There is a common observance among lawyers: In family law, the parents fight over the children; in elder law, the children fight over the parents.

Cute girl blowing alphabet blocks while family looking at it in house

Sadly, this is often true and can lead to costly litigation. What starts out as a dispute among siblings as to whether a parent should reside with one of them can end up being a court case. When that happens, our firm is there to represent a party who wants to make sure his or her interests are protected. Continue reading “Probation Litigation: Guardians, Conservators and Estate Issues”

Why It’s Important To Talk End-Of-Life Before An Emergency

8.17.17.EndOfLife.Andersen.blog (1)The following is a guest post by Fran Myers who started a nonprofit called Advance Care Advocate to meet the needs of those without a health care advocate. She coaches families, acts as an agent (primary or secondary) and speaks for groups, organizations and churches. 

A teen I know shared that when her dad died suddenly, no one knew how to talk with her about it. Her friends didn’t know what to say. Her story highlights the fact that we really don’t do well at communicating about this phase of the life cycle no matter how old we are and how hurtful that is. Continue reading “Why It’s Important To Talk End-Of-Life Before An Emergency”