Author Archives: Phillip A. Baumann
Is It Time to Revise Your Will? Yes.
Establishing a last will and testament is an important part of good estate planning, but the process doesn’t end there. Many people are under the impression that drafting one will is sufficient, but in reality, life changes often require you to review and possibly revise your will. If your will is not up to date […]
What Is Probate and Do I Want to Avoid It?
Probate is a process used to identify and gather the assets of a deceased person, or decedent. This process is court-supervised and used to pay the decedent’s debts or distribute the assets to beneficiaries. The assets are typically used to pay the cost of the probate proceeding before being applied to debts. The remainder, if […]
Plan for Your Children: Naming a Guardian
In developing a solid estate plan, nothing is more important than choosing the person to raise your children in the event both parents are deceased. Designating a guardian should be one of the first steps in any estate planning process. In national news, the 2012 death of former Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch publicized a […]
More Than Wills & Trusts: Estate Planning for Possibilities
Concerning estate planning, trusts and a last will and testament are usually the first things that come to mind. Although having these documents secured for your family’s future is undeniably important, there are several other vital considerations, such as advance health directives. Advance health directives are divided into three categories: healthcare surrogate designations, living wills […]
Crafting an Estate Plan for Same-Sex Couples
Estate planning, while sometimes complex, is currently the only available tool for same-sex couples to ensure both partners receive what they need if one of them passes away. The state of Florida has a number of constitutional and statutory restrictions that prevent same-sex couples from receiving many of the protections heterosexual couples are able to […]
Drafting Your Estate Plan? Don’t Forget the Cloud
Estate planning is an important process if you want to ensure the assets you’ve built up over your lifetime get distributed appropriately after you pass on. Good estate planning takes a number of things into account, including property, investments, business interests and, increasingly, digital property. Today, an online presence is almost as important as real-life […]
Can Artificially and Posthumously Conceived Children Inherit under the Law?
Although advances in assisted reproductive technology (ART) are changing the traditional definition of parenting, many states’ laws are not keeping pace with science. Most states adhere to the Uniform Parentage Act which holds that the presumed father of a child conceived by his wife is the father of that child, no matter whose sperm was […]
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