Blog & Resources

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “At my son’s death, can I decide who receives any remaining money in the Special Needs Trust? I want to set up a Special Needs Trust for my son in my Will. But, when he dies, can my daughter receive what money remains?”

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: The Directed Trustee maybe the answer to your problem!

“I am considering setting up an Irrevocable Trust to hold assets for my children. But, I want my current wealth manager investing the trust property. Unfortunately, if I pick a corporate trustee, they will use their money manager. How do I force the corporate trustee to use my financial advisor?”

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “I am thinking about forming a trust for my minor child, but I read that a trust could be a “simple trust” or a “complex trust,” what is a complex trust?”

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: “What is a Spousal Limited Access Trust?”

A Spousal Lifetime Access Trust, or SLAT, holds and shelters your gifts for your spouse’s benefit.

From Our “Ask a Question” mailbag: Can a non-citizen spouse inherit land from me, a US citizen, even while a non-resident? My wife lives in India, but I have property in my name here in the United States.

Ask a Question” mailbag: I need life insurance as part of my estate plan to cover the cost of my son’s college tuition and pay off the mortgage. What policy best fits my needs?

First, focus on the reasons for why you are purchasing life insurance. Life insurance is an excellent Estate Planningtool, but only if you are clear as to its purpose.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag addresses providing protection from scams.

“My mother is having trouble managing her finances, and I discovered she wrote a check to some person who called her on the phone. It wasn’t much, but she was confused and in the future might get scammed out of a large sum by some telemarketer or criminal. She needs protection from scams. Can a revocable living trust or an Irrevocable Trusthelp protect her?”

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: I have been reading about trusts to avoid probate. Can a trust help my estate avoid probate?

Trusts come in all shapes and sizes and can help you meet many different goals. If your goal is to avoid probate, you could use a Revocable Living Trust, or you could use any number of different Irrevocable Trusts. Both categories help your estate avoid probate.

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My father has been diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. He is having some memory issues, but is still doing very well on his own with one exception. My brother has always been the black sheep of the family. He has never held a steady job. He recently declared bankruptcy and has been pressuring my father to give him money and to change his will to give my brother more money. My father and my deceased mother’s wills have always divided their estate equally between the four children. My father has told me that he does not want to change his will, but that he is worried that as the Alzheimer’s progresses, he may give into the pressure my brother is putting on him. How do I protect my father from my brother’s undue influence?

From our “Ask a Question” mailbag: My wife’s and my estates are worth about $3,000,000, including a one million dollar life insurance policy on my life. At my death, my wife will receive the benefits from that policy. Upon both of our deaths, our assets pass to my son. Now that the federal estate taxexemption is over five million dollars, does an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust provide me any benefit?