Author Archives: Phillip A. Baumann
Do You and Your Elderly Parents Want to Avoid a Guardianship?
Yes — avoid a guardianship if at all possible. A number of people today suffer from dementia in their elder years. Sometimes families don’t realize the extent of their parents’ memory loss and its legal implications. Family members often live in other states or visit infrequently. By the time they discover their parents’ dementia, the […]
A Look at Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Estate Planning
Celebrities are generally in the limelight, and consequently, we can often learn valuable lessons from their errors. As far as learning from mistakes, estate planning is no different than many other areas of life. According to the Forbes, Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s estate is worth $35 million. Even so, the most current version of Hoffman’s will, […]
How to Talk to Your Parents About Their Estate Planning
If you are like most people, bringing up estate planning with your parents is extremely awkward. You may worry that your parents may think you are just trying to find out how much money you may inherit. However, if you are likely to be the person to take over your parents’ finances when they die […]
Do You Need a Living Will?
A living will is document that details your desires regarding end-of-life decisions. It records whether you wish to receive treatments to sustain your life, including resuscitation and feeding, if you become incapacitated and are unable to communicate your wishes. A living will can be beneficial for a number of different reasons: It removes the heavy […]
The Importance of Gift Planning
There is tremendous personal satisfaction in sharing your good fortune with those you love and supporting causes you care about. There are also tax advantages to doing just that. With federal estate taxes set at 40 percent for any amount in your estate that exceeds $5,340,000, it is crucial for wealthy individuals to explore ways […]
The Perfect Trust (For You)
Revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, special needs trusts, education trusts, testamentary trusts, trusts with tax provisions and trusts without. Trusts come in all shapes and sizes and can do most anything you want them to. The key is to determine exactly what you need a trust for and to […]
How to Contest a Will
If you are listed as the beneficiary in a will and have concerns about the will’s validity, you may choose to contest it. If this is the case for you, it’s important to understand under what circumstances you are permitted to contest a will, and how you should manage the process. There are four limited […]
Anticipating and Preventing Will Contests
Will contests, though relatively rare, may happen for a number of reasons. There are several common signs that parties involved in an estate plan might engage in a contest. If the situation involves the disinheritance of a close relative or spouse, unequal treatment of children in the will or unusual behavior on behalf of the […]
How Retirement Assets Factor Into Your Estate Plan
In the world of estate planning, coordinating retirement assets is crucial. These days, a substantial portion of a person’s overall wealth can be found in tax-deferred retirement accounts like traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans. There are many factors to take into account when considering the role your retirement assets play […]
Already Have a Will? It Might Not Be Good Enough
If you have already drafted a last will and testament with the help of a lawyer, you’ve taken an important step toward ensuring your family’s protection after your death. However, changes in the economic climate within the past several years have made it necessary to revisit the estate planning process with some new factors in […]