It can be tempting to avoid the costs of creating an estate plan when your only significant asset is your home. After all, what’s the harm of simply putting your home in your child’s name to avoid probate and be done with it?   We hear this question more than you’d think at our office, and we almost always advise against it. The truth is, there are a number of reasons to keep your home in your own name, the biggest ones being property taxes and your child’s liabilities.   Oth

If you have more than one child, you’ve probably wondered if you should leave each of your children the same amount in your will or trust. While this seems like the best approach in most situations, there are some instances where it might not be the wisest strategy, or even the fairest. Factors you might want to consider include: One child earns considerably more than your other children One child has several children of his or her own, while another child does not  One of yo

The statistics are rather alarming. In 2005, 50 percent of Americans had a will; today, only 32 percent of us have one. Meanwhile, only one in three Americans over the age of 55 has a durable power of attorney, and a mere 41 percent of this same demographic has advance health care directives. Why is this? According to statistics culled from a range of sources, Americans lack estate plans for the following reasons: 47 percent say “they haven’t gotten around to it” 29 percent t

Many people believe that estate planning is only for elders. The truth is that younger folks, including millennials, can benefit from having an estate plan of their own.   Millennials are generally defined as individuals born between 1981 and 1996—that is, people between the ages of 29 and 45. This is the age at which many people start families of their own. If you have a child, you should at the very least have a last will and testament. It allows you to name a guardian for