The term “Joint Tenancy With Rights of Survivorship” is most commonly associated with real estate transactions.  Usually when real property is owned by two or more persons, (most commonly spouses), Joint Tenancy is preferred because when the real property is owned in this manner, upon the death of one joint holder, the other joint holder(s)  Read More

Most estate plans which incorporate Trusts, generally don’t consider using the Trust for retirement benefits.  This is because retirement plans already have a designated beneficiary, so the assets don’t necessarily need to be considered as part of the estate upon death.  Hence, there is no need to change that as part of the estate plan.  Read More

Let’s say a distant family member, who you hardly knew (but who obviously remembered you) died and left you a huge house in their Will. At first, you would think WOW!  That’s terrific.  I won the lottery.  A huge place to call my own, a big pool, tennis court; a real Newport Mansion type house.   Read More

Providing care for a minor child is one of the most important factors in estate planning and is usually on the top of the list for most parents when they consider creating an estate plan.  Caring for a child in the event of the death of a parent is complex to say the least.  It’s  Read More

It’s that time of year again; the time to start thinking about whether you have exhausted the annual tax savings portion of your estate plan.   As I have written about in many of my previous columns and spoken about at my seminars, one of the best tools of Estate planning is the benefit of gifting.   Read More

The term Elder Care generally refers to the health and maintenance of the elderly and may or may not have anything to do with estate planning depending on your concerns.  From an estate planning perspective, planning for either an elderly loved one or for your own benefits when you reach that age is a very  Read More

My column usually focuses on a particular aspect of estate planning such as a type of Trust or various Wills.  I define them, and then explain how they work and how they can be of benefit.  However, one aspect of estate planning that is rarely discussed is when the appropriate time in your life is  Read More