Estate Planning

One of the options available to individuals planning their estate is something called a directed trust. This is a legal device that allows any person with a large amount of assets to put those assets into a larger trust, perhaps managed by a bank or trust company,...

Sometimes the hardest thing about setting up an estate plan isn't finding the answers to your questions - it's knowing what questions to ask in the first place. That was the focus of a recent New York Times article by Tara Siegel Bernard. In the piece, she discusses...

At this point, it seems doubtful that the clouds will be breaking for our troubled American economy anytime soon. When there's a storm, sometimes the best thing to do is to hole up with a book and wait the rain out before making plans.If we keep the metaphor of...

Your estate plan is yours and yours alone. What you put in your will or the rules you designate for end-of-life care are only beholden to your discretion. Still, many times it pays to share your decisions and plans with the members of your family who will be affected...

As discussed last week, the federal estate tax is not the only tax to consider when planning your estate. New Jersey also levies an estate tax, as well as a tax on certain assets that are passed on after death. This second tax is referred to as an inheritance tax.The...

Estate planning is extremely important for those hoping to retire in comfort, as well as protect and pass on assets to loved ones. Estate planning, while legal in large part, also has a more accessible side. You cannot do everything on your own, but you can do some...

For young parents with small children, or maybe a first child on the way, estate planning is likely the last item on the agenda. The need for writing a will is low. Everyone is healthy, the job is stable, the weather is nice and the grass is green. In a perfect world,...

Plenty of legal shortcuts have popped up on the Internet in recent years, promoting the benefits of bypassing professional lawyers and opting for DIY legal procedures. One of the biggest markets is, ironically, one of the last most people should be doing themselves....

Estate planning is about more than leaving your belongings to loved ones; it is also about protecting the things you own for future generations. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of small business owners seeking to keep the business in the family or...

More often than not, estate planning is looked at as a way to ease the transition of an individual's assets to the custody of friends and loved ones. This is, indeed, what estate planning can and should be used for, but should it be the first priority of the...