Reasons Most Parents Have Not Planned for the Care of their Kids The statistics are staggering: most parents do not have wills or other documents naming guardian(s) of their children if something happens to them. Depending on the source, the percentage is between 50-75%. Why? One reason is likely lack of knowledge – some parents might understand that a will is the traditional place to name guardians for children Read More
Your Estate Planning Checklist
The death of a parent… Medical issues… Birth of a child… A milestone birthday… Any of these events can trigger the urge to put your affairs in order and plan your estate. One of the best things you can for your loved ones is to leave them an estate that’s well organized, clear cut and easy to administer. While we talk often about the need for a sound estate plan, we know that trying to plan your estate can be Read More
What If?
Most people start the process of estate planning to deal with “What If”. What If you died and your children were still too young to care for themselves? What If you were no longer physically able to care for yourself? What If you had very specific instructions for how your property should be passed on? Every person on the planet has an individual list of things they worry about. And those worries are often what Read More
Saving Your Heirs From Themselves
You’ve worked hard for your money... You’ve made some good investments and lived well within your means... You want to leave as much as possible to your heirs but... That grandson has a serious snowboarding addiction... Or maybe your daughter is just crazy about her new husband and the guy hasn’t had a steady job since he mowed yards in eighth grade... You don’t want to disinherit them but how do you save them Read More
Protecting Your Child’s Identity
The holidays are upon us, and unfortunately, so are the opportunities for being victims of fraud. Most of us are savvy enough to know we should shred our credit card bills and anything else with identifying information on it. But have you thought about protecting your child’s identity? Child identity theft is a fairly new problem but it’s happening more and more. And according to the FTC, 5% of the victims were Read More
“Happy Holidays From Your Acton Estate Planning Lawyer!” – How’s Your Estate Plan?
By David Feakes, Acton Estate Planning Lawyer and Personal Family Lawyer. The end of the year is always a good time to reassess where we are financially… Plan for the future… Correct past mistakes… And, most importantly, change course if needed. This year, a review of your estate plan is more vital than ever. The resurrection of the federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) in 2011, the Read More
The 15 Estate Planning Mistakes That Could Leave Your Family in Danger (Part 1)
Does Your Plan Make One of These 15 Fatal Mistakes that Can Endanger Your Family, Result in the Government Taking Too Much of Your Money, and Leave Your Family With a Huge Problem? (Part 1 - Counting Down: Mistakes #15 -11) Regardless of whether you've prepared a plan for what will happen in the event of your death or incapacity, a plan is in place. It’s the people you love the most who are going to have the Read More
“The Kids Are Alright” Authors: Protect Your Kids
Orphaned Children and Authors of the Bestselling Book “The Kids Are All Right” Partner With Personal Family Lawyers® Nationwide to Ensure Parents Have Affordable Access to Name Guardians for Kids Liz and Diana Welch, bestselling authors of the Kids are All Right and daughters of late soap star Ann Williams have partnered with a national team of lawyers to make sure parents have affordable access to name guardians Read More
The 5 Documents Every Parent Needs in 2009
Today, I am passing along a true story originally published in Parents magazine. This story is repeated more often than you realize. The sad part is that this should not happen to any family... When Aliina Laine was 8, her mother died suddenly, leaving six children, ranging in age from 8 to 26, and no will. After his wife's death, Aliina's father decided to write a will, but he died of a heart attack five weeks Read More
