New Year Check-In: Are Your Beneficiaries & Documents up to Date?

The new year is an optimal time to check in on some of the basics of your estate plan, such as making sure your beneficiaries and documents match up with your current wishes and situation. A lot can change in a year, and it’s easy to forget about estate documentation and account beneficiaries that have been filed away. A regular Continue Reading →

How to Protect Your Retirement Account

Shocking to most people, your retirement accounts can be seized once they pass to your loved ones. During your lifetime, your retirement funds have asset protection, meaning they can’t be taken in a lawsuit. Unfortunately, as soon as retirement accounts are inherited by your loved ones, the protection evaporates. This means your hard earned money can legally be snatched by Continue Reading →

Trusts, in Plain English

I admit it: Legal terminology is confusing. Not only are some words foreign outside of the estate planning world, but sometimes “normal” words carry a legal definition you would have never guessed. And sometimes, the same legal concept has more than one phrase used to describe it. Take “Living Trust” and “Revocable Trust” and “Revocable Living Trust,” for example – Continue Reading →