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Beneficiary Designations Beneficiaries

Bowditch & Dewey

Remember to Adjust Your Estate Plan During or After a Divorce

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Married couples often have wills naming one another as their primary beneficiary. People also often name their spouse as beneficiary of retirement accounts and life insurance policies. Upon commencing a divorce action,...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Key Estate Planning Adjustments to Make After Your Spouse Passes Away

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The period after a spouse passes away is an emotional time of mourning. However, there are a handful of estate planning adjustments that you should make to protect your estate under the new conditions....more

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson PLLC

Importance of Beneficiary Designations in Estate Planning

As a bit of background, there is a distinction between probate assets and non-probate assets. Probate assets are distributed according to your will during a probate administration whereas non-probate assets are distributed...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Do Your Beneficiary Designations Coordinate with Your Will?

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Many people fear the word probate, and it is not without reason. Probate can be a tedious, expensive and lengthy process, where you are at the whim of the court’s timeline. But what is probate? Probate is when you must...more

Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A.

Estate Planning and Transfer on Death Deeds: New Insurance Warnings beginning August 1

A new Minnesota law comes into effect on August 1, 2024, which flags the importance of addressing insurance coverage within your estate plan, especially if your plan utilizes transfer on death deeds. A transfer on death deed...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Death and Dirt: Addressing the Injustices of the Past in Heirs Property

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Today on “Splitting Heirs,” host Warren Racusin speaks with Molefi McIntosh and Mavis Gragg about the “heirs’ property problem--” or what happens to real estate when it is passed down within families without benefit of a...more

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig PLLC

What Are The Benefits Of Transfer On Death Deeds In Washington?

Traditionally, real estate must pass through a deed signed by all grantees of the last vesting deed, or if one of the grantees has passed away, then a probate proceeding allows a court to transfer title for the deceased...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Can You Feel the Love Tonight? Estate Planning for Couples

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Let's be honest.  Legal documents are not written in anyone's love language.  On Valentines Day, we undoubtedly would prefer to exchange thoughtful presents, enjoy an intimate meal with our significant other, or blush at the...more

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson PLLC

Estate Planning – Do I Need a Revocable Living Trust?

One of the most common questions we hear from our clients is “do I need a revocable living trust?” While in some states a revocable living trust is a vital component of any estate plan due to those state’s probate laws,...more

Stark & Stark

The Crucial Importance of Updating Documents After Divorce

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Divorce can be a challenging and emotionally draining experience, leaving individuals with numerous legal and personal matters to resolve. Amidst all the turmoil, it is vital for people to understand the significance of...more

Gray Reed

“Hi, I Think Your Dad is Also My Dad”: Illegitimate Heirs – Fiduciaries

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Mary Goodblood grew up believing that she was Cash Goodblood’s only daughter. Twenty-five years after he died, her dad’s brother Uncle Trusty sold the Goodblood family business for a tidy sum. After report of the lucrative...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Senator Feinstein Alleges that the Trust Meant to Protect Her Has Become “Untrustworthy.”

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Back on July 26 we wrote about how trusts have become a new territory within the divorce landscape. At the time the press was just starting to write about California Senator Diane Feinstein’s troubles with the trust her...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

The Sad Tale of Hubby and Lovey: Preparing One’s Estate for the Possibility of Divorce

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In this episode of “Splitting Heirs,” Warren K. Racusin, partner and Chair of Lowenstein’s Trusts & Estates practice, speaks with Sharon L. Klein, EVP, President - Family Wealth, Eastern U.S. Region & Head of National Divorce...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Divorcing the Wealthy is Often a Matter of “Trusts”

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I received a call recently from a colleague looking to refer a client for a divorce. Our firm had done estate planning for the client and spouse, thus we were not eligible to represent either party in a marital break up as...more

Blank Rome LLP

Transfer on Death Beneficiary Designations for Financial and Real Property Assets

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Transfer on Death (“TOD”), also known as Payable on Death (“POD”), account registrations are a popular way to avoid the requirement to pass assets through probate upon death and operate as an alternative to retitling assets...more

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson PLLC

When Do I Need an Estate Plan?

One of the most common questions we receive in our Estate Planning practice is “when do I need a personalized estate plan?” While there are many factors to consider, you will want a personalized estate plan when there is a...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

Back to Basics: Wills & Revocable Trusts

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I am often asked about the difference between wills and revocable trusts, so I thought it important to explain the purpose of each. Wills and revocable trusts basically do the same thing – each is a document in which you...more

Miles Mediation & Arbitration

Planning Your Estate? What to Ask Before You Name an Executor

Benjamin Franklin once said that nothing is certain except for death and taxes. For many people, the awareness of the first certainty spurs them to make an estate plan, which necessitates several important decisions. In...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed A Judgment That A Will Was Invalid Due To Mental Incapacity

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In Mittelsted v. Meriwether, the decedent changed his will and beneficiary designations on bank accounts to leave everything to his half-brother. No. 14-21-00755-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 1020 (Tex. App.—Houston February 16,...more

Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C.

Estate Planning Pitfall: You Haven’t Coordinated Beneficiary Designations With Your Will

Perhaps you drafted your will years ago and it references many of your existing assets, including retirement plan accounts and life insurance policies. But you also have paperwork on file with the applicable financial...more

Burns & Levinson LLP

Explaining Guardianship and Conservatorship to a Loved One/Beneficiary

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Conversations with loved ones who are declining in health and perhaps advancing in age are difficult. Such difficulty is only exacerbated when that loved one is losing their ability to make healthcare decisions on their own...more

Goodwin

Transfer-on-Death Designations: Potential Pitfalls

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When used in consultation with an estate planning attorney, transfer-on-death (TOD) or payable-on-death (POD) designations on financial accounts can be valuable estate planning tools. However, these account designations have...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Summary Judgment For A Financial Advisor Due To The Dead Man’s Rule Arising From Claim That He Failed To Change A...

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In Donnelly v. Donnelly, a widow sued her deceased husband’s son for failing to change the beneficiary designation on the husband’s IRA to name her. No. 14-21-00592-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 7615 (Tex. App.—Houston October 13,...more

Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C.

A Spouse’s Inheritance Rights Vary State by State

If you’re preparing to get remarried, your estate plan likely isn’t top of mind. However, depending on the state you live in, your spouse has property rights that apply regardless of the terms of your estate plan. These...more

Rivkin Radler LLP

Wendy and Jen Wreck the Movies (And the Books They Are Based On): Howards End (1992), or “Estate Planning Should Not Wait Until...

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Margaret Schlegel and Ruth Wilcox bond over Christmas shopping, their shared attachment to their respective childhood homes and familial loyalty. Ruth enchants Margaret with stories of her ancestral home, Howards End. Ruth...more

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