You can save your Executor — and your family —time and money later by organizing your important documents and finances right now.
We’ve assembled a list of information and documents your Executor might need quick and easy access to if anything were to happen to you.
[Click the title to read the full post.]
The subject of inheritance is one that most people studiously avoid for a number of different reasons: superstition, fear, lack of knowledge, or a desire for secrecy.
Many adults were raised to believe that money was a private affair, and that talking about it was inappropriate; but beyond that, many people simply fear that if they talk about their estate plan with their heirs they will meet with resistance, disagreement, or in a worst-case scenario—their heirs will try to counter the estate plan with legal action of their own.
While in some families and circumstances these fears are justified, in most circumstances being silent about your estate plan can have disastrous consequences.
A refusal to talk about money or your estate plans with you children means that they will have a difficult time following your wishes in regards to your medical treatment or protection of your assets should disaster strike. Most adult children are actually eager to fulfill their parents’ last wishes, regardless of how it may or may not impact their own inheritance.
[Click the title to read the full post.]
You don’t need to have anything prepared before your first visit with us
Our first meeting with you will be to get to know you and your needs. We’ll discuss the things and issues that are most important to you and will be at the heart of your estate plan: your family, your assets, and your goals. You know your life. There’s no need to prepare for this meeting.
However…
if you are a person who feels more comfortable preparing for a task on your own, you can consider these preparation steps.
[Click the title to read the full post.]
Administering the Estate of a deceased loved one can be complicated and emotional under the best of circumstances, but Executors who take on this overwhelming task may find themselves facing more than just the demands of relatives and heirs.
They may also find themselves facing the illegitimate demands of creditors. This article on The New Old Age New York Times Blog — Credit Card Debt That Outlives Mom — warns readers to “Be wary of collection agencies that try to convince you that you are responsible for payment on a card owned solely by a deceased parent.”
After the death of a parent, children and heirs often receive calls from debt collectors looking for someone — anyone! — to pay off the debts of the deceased, even if the heirs have no obligation to do so.
In most situations relatives are not required to pay the debts of the deceased from their own assets.
[Click the title to read the full post.]