Category: Estate Planning

A good number of individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations rely on us to help them grow their wealth, protect their assets, and safeguard their legacies, so that they can command their futures and enjoy their successes. Others rely on us to invest significant sums of money that they have received as a result of an […]

As they say in the movies, the following is based upon a true story. Alex was in the market for a boat slip. He found one, owned by a brother and sister, Jack and Jill. They had inherited it from their father. However, they seemed emotionally tied to the slip, which was odd because neither […]

Estate planners and trust officers often hear the question: “How can I keep my money out of the hands of my child’s spouse?”  There can be many motivations for this attitude—perhaps the son-in-law or daughter-in-law lacks financial maturity, or has a substance abuse problem, or the parent thinks that the marriage itself might not last. […]

Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul,” passed away in August. Her life and musical legacy were remarkable. Her estate planning, not so much. Reportedly, Ms. Franklin died without ever executing a will. Her four sons filed notices with the probate court, before her funeral, that they were interested parties to her estate. One signed a […]

The Grantor-Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) has emerged as a popular strategy in the estate planner’s toolkit.  The idea is that a grantor places assets in a trust while retaining the right to receive payments from the trust.  When the term of the trust expires, any assets remaining in the trust pass to a beneficiary, typically […]

Financial exploitation of our senior citizens is a growing problem. To some extent, seniors are targeted because that’s where the money is. However, the decline of cognitive ability in the older population also may be a factor when scamsters consider whom to go after. Financial professionals—bankers, brokers, insurance agents, and trustees, such as us—are on […]

More and more seniors are finding themselves alone and without nearby relatives to help them with financial management. Persons in this situation will need to find an alternative – friends or professionals who can fulfill the roles that might otherwise be handled by family members. Delegated Powers For seniors, the most vexing problems are associated […]

When a financial professional provides investment advice, one of two different standards applies: 1. the recommendation is “suitable” for the client; or 2. the recommendation is the in client’s best interest. To the layman, the difference in these two statements may not seem like much, but to lawyers and regulators, there is a world of […]

A surprising number of people have not yet attended to their estate planning. Perhaps this is because estate planning has become so much more complicated in recent years, even though the burden of taxes at death has been in decline. Estate planning now usually covers medical and financial decisions before the end of life, as […]