Heirs’ property is property that is owned by persons who received the property as a result of a person dying without a will. Each owner has an undivided interest in the property. An undivided interest means that one owner doesn’t have the right to exclude others from the property, exclusively possess the property, and cannot […]
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Recently I received an inquiry from a person whose fiancé died without a will. This person wanted to know what rights she had in the estate of her fiancé. When a person dies without a will the laws of intestacy apply to the distribution of the person’s property. Under the North Carolina intestacy laws, the […]
When estate planning for real estate assets, you should consider choosing an entity that will provide sufficient liability protection, protecting yourself against liabilities generated by the real estate, and determining who will manage the real estate after your death. An LLC (limited liability company) is one of the most common used entities to hold real […]
The greatest concern in second marriages is ensuring that each spouse’s share of the estate ultimately ends up with his or her desired beneficiaries. That is, if each spouse has children from other relationships, those children’s inheritance is protected even if their parent is the first spouse to die. Traditional estate planning distributes an estate […]
A Revocable or “living trust” is created during your lifetime, has a trustee, and owns property that you have transferred to it during your lifetime. While you are living, the trustee (who may be you) is responsible for managing the property for your benefit. Upon your death, the trustee is directed to either distribute the […]
Often people feel that once they have completed their estate planning documents there is no need to review the plan. Failing to periodically review your estate plan can result in unintended consequences that do not accomplish your intended goals. Best practice is to review your documents annually and upon the occurrence of major life events. […]
Many people will use a revocable trust as their primary estate-planning document but fail to fund the trust. Funding a trust means retitling the assets and accounts that you wish the trust to control and placing those assets in the name of the trust.Sounds quite simple right? However when assets aren’t retitled in the name […]
Divorce protection is an important aspect of asset protection and estate planning. With a 50% national divorce rate, it is commonplace for people to protect themselves and their children’s inheritances from former spouses. The three planning tools that I am going to focus on are Spendthrift and Discretionary trusts, Buy Out provisions in operating agreements […]
A growing concern amongst retirees and those close to retirement is the ability to care for their survivors. When it comes to providing benefits for survivors, life insurance and annuities are great estate- planning tools. Upon the death of the insured, beneficiaries avoid probate, receive immediate payment and the proceeds can be protected from creditors. […]
A power of attorney (POA) is an essential document of a comprehensive estate plan because it allows your attorney in fact to conduct business on your behalf with third parties. For a number of reasons, third parties are hesitant to honor POA’s. Third parties are generally unaware as to whether the POA was lawfully executed, […]
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