After your death, your will provides an estate planning roadmap for distributing your property to your chosen beneficiaries. You may be wondering how a probate court will know whether or not a particular document is actually your will. In other words, how does one go about proving a will is…
No parent wants to contemplate losing a child. But from an estate planning perspective, you should anticipate how you wish to handle your own affairs in the event a child does not outlive you. Addressing these contingencies up front can help avoid misunderstandings after your death as to your wishes.…
Clarity is important when drafting a last will and testament. Your executor must be able to understand your intentions with respect to the disposition of your estate. Likewise, the beneficiaries named in your will have a right to know what they are entitled to. When imprecise terminology is employed, it…
Estate planning and tax planning often go hand in hand. There are many estate planning devices which allow you to (legally) obtain tax benefits. One example is a charitable remainder trust, which is a special type of estate planning trust that can provide an immediate tax benefit for you while…
You might think the most difficult part of estate planning would be figuring out how to transfer title to your house or administering a living trust. But for a British Columbia widow, one of the biggest hassles she faced following her husband’s death was gaining access to his Apple account.…
Your estate plan is designed to dispose of any property you own at the time of your death. Property can include not just financial assets, real estate, and tangible items, but also the legal rights to certain works you have created or invented. These intellectual property rights can be quite…
Estate planning is especially important when you own property in more than one state. Although your will is generally subject to the law of the state in which you reside at the time of your death, there may be a need to open an additional (or “ancillary”) estate in any…
You may not think having a last will and testament is important. But consider the possibility that if you do not make a will, someone else might create one in your name. While not common, will forgery does occur, and the internet makes it easier than ever for someone to…
An important part of the estate planning process is taking inventory of what you own. If you own or operate a business, for example, you need to make sure it is clear which assets belong to the business and which belong to you as an individual. If you create a…
Estate planning has many tax implications. Even if you do not have an estate large enough to incur a federal estate tax bill—and that will be most of us—there are other tax issues to consider. For example, what happens to the taxable value of your house if you leave it…