Stan is a client who came to my office and shared some great stories about an old friend who had passed away a couple years ago. We both got a chuckle over some of their high school antics. Stan went on to talk about how strange it was that he still got notices of his [...]
Kids sometimes ask the strangest things, especially after watching TV ads. Eight year old Sally was watching TV one lazy Sunday morning when an interview aired between a local estate planning attorney and a news reporter. The topic was the irrevocable trust, a term Sally had never heard before. So she asked the smartest person [...]
When Sam suddenly passed, his family found themselves with a real mess on their hands. Well liked by friends and associates, Sam was known to be the life of every party. But he was never keen on planning ahead. Because he'd never completed an estate plan, his family was forced to spend an inordinate amount [...]
Eat your vegetables, but pay attention the estate planning fundamentals. It was a typical morning at Ellen’s house – find husband David’s socks, make breakfast, get the kids to school, and get to work on time. Estate planning concerns were the last thing on her mind. Stuck in traffic, Ellen focused on the day ahead. [...]
Surprisingly, not every young family needs life insurance. That is, as long as there is plenty of money in the bank to provide for a surviving spouse and see the children through to adulthood should a parent’s life end unexpectedly. Do you know of any young families like this? Probably not. Most have mortgages and [...]
Dementia is a general term referring to a broad range of symptoms affecting memory and thinking. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for 60-80% of all dementia cases. Some may use the word “senility” to describe an individual with short-term memory loss, but this is inaccurate, because senility refers to mental [...]
Life changes and with it, our plans. Marriage, divorce, home buying and selling, births, adoptions, deaths and health issues may bring about life changes that one cannot anticipate. That’s why it’s smart to review your estate plan about every five years, or following any significant life event. As well, tax laws change from time to [...]
By Gregory F. Quinn Clients sometimes ask, “Will Medicare cover nursing home expenses?” Here are three surprising facts you can’t ignore. On its website, the Medicare program talks about the number of people who will eventually need nursing home care. They provide the following information. Are you sitting down? 1) By 2020, 12 million older [...]
By Brian G. Quinn Think Estate Planning for Young Couples can be ignored? Guess again. I'm an estate planning attorney in my thirties. Many of my friends and family are getting married and having children. They often ignore the subject of estate planning, thinking that "Estate planning for young couples simply isn't necessary." That's a [...]
Creditors, predators and lawsuits – OH MY! Do you have the kind of protection that gives you peace of mind? Over the last two decades, asset protection planning has become a crucial aspect of most estate planning. The creative use of irrevocable trusts can be one of the most powerful tools in estate planning and [...]