John Wick - What You Need To Know about the Corporate Transparency Act
Once Removed Episode 24: Expressing Goals and Intent for the Trust
Once Removed Episode 23: Naming Guardians for Minor Children
Once Removed Episode 22: Building Flexibility into the Estate Plan
Once Removed Episode 20: Helping a Beneficiary Purchase a Home
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 6 - Reshaping Your Legacy: Estate Planning After Your Divorce
Charitable Planning With Guest Stephanie Hood: Navigating Complex Rules and Traps for the Unwary
A Primer On Trusts - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Family Office Technology Solutions
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: The Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
What is a self-proving affidavit?
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
Basics of Estate Planning
The Case of the Disappearing Trust
Protecting Your Estate Plan from Challenges: No-Contest Clause Explained
The Secret Child
Did your father give you a nominal bequest but gave his favorite daughter the bulk of the estate? Were you bequeathed the family dog and $10,000, but your mother’s boyfriend of six months was to receive the Lamborghini and...more
Section 17.3, comment f, of the Restatement (Third) of Property (Wills and Other Donative Transfers) explains the difference between a collateral power of appointment and a power of appointment in gross: “In traditional...more
When preparing your estate plan there are a number of things to consider including how to provide for your pets who are an important part of your life and ensuring that they are taken care of after your passing. There are a...more
Most US homeowners and business owners understand the importance of an estate plan; they just never seem to get around to completing the task. What do you need to know about a trust? Why are trusts a central component of any...more
In International Rescue Committee v. Trustee of the Wylie Street Emergency Fund, 537 P.3d 30 (2023), the Supreme Court of Idaho cited Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019) as authority for the proposition that “a person can...more
Dealing with the death of a family member or close friend can be a very difficult and daunting task. Knowing what to expect can make the process seem less overwhelming and less stressful. After handling funeral arrangements,...more
There are various benefits to creating a testamentary trust. This article discusses the benefits of adding a testamentary trust to your estate plan....more
Unfortunately, not all families get along. If you are having problems with one of your children, you may not want them to benefit from your estate. There are several strategies for dealing with an estranged child in your...more
In the next webinar in our Estate Planning 101 series, wealth preservation attorney Whitney Patience O’Reilly will discuss the basics of trusts. She will review the differences between revocable and irrevocable trusts and...more
Many California trusts confer a lifetime right to income on a person (often the surviving spouse) with the remainder passing to designated survivors upon the income beneficiary’s death. When the income beneficiary dies, is it...more
In Ackers v. Comerica Bank & Trust, N.A., an income beneficiary sued a trustee for a declaration regarding the construction of a testamentary trust. No. 11-18-00352-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 10442 (Tex. App.—Eastland December...more
In In the Estate of Mendoza, a decedent’s son’s children filed a petition claiming their entitlement to their father’s beneficial interest in a trust created under the decedent’s will. No. 04-19-00129-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS...more
In In re Estate of Moore, a decedent executed a will that provided that the residuary of his estate would be held in trust for his mother, and such trust would terminate on her death with the assets then passing to certain...more
A recent Arkansas Court of Appeals ruling indicates that courts may be unwilling to enforce arbitration provisions set forth in testamentary documents where a beneficiary challenges the validity of the document itself....more
While you may love your son-in-law or daughter-in-law, you may not necessarily want to pass your assets to them that your child inherited from you but then subsequently died. Many people have reservations about this scenario....more
Probate. The word itself is enough to strike fear into the hearts of elderly individuals and their loved ones. It conjures images of lengthy delays waiting for wealth to be transferred and bitter disputes among family...more
IRS Rules Appointment of Special Trustee and Special Trustee’s Subsequent Exercise of Power to Limit or Eliminate Trust Beneficiary’s Testamentary General Power of Appointment Will Not Constitute Exercise or Release for...more
Our first newsletter of the fall summarizes four recent cases of note, including a Massachusetts Appeals Court victory for clients of Goulston & Storrs who successfully defeated an action seeking to remove them as trustees....more
In Kohlhausen v. Baxendale, the court affirmed a summary judgment for a trustee on the basis of an exculpatory clause in a trust document. No. 01-15-00901-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 1828 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] March 13,...more
Trusts are popular estate planning tools people use for a variety of reasons including providing for the long-term management of assets for minor beneficiaries, people with disabilities, or financially irresponsible adults....more
In Lowell v. Talcott et al., Case No. 13-p-1053, 2014 Mass. App. LEXIS 98 (August 18, 2014), the Appeals Court considered whether a child born in the 1960s while her mother was married to a man who is not the child’s father...more