Trust
How to ask a chosen party to be your executor
After determining the qualities you want your executor to possess and finding the right party, you need to initiate a conversation. But how do you ask someone to accept such a complex role? Here are three tips that can help you: Let them understand your criteria for...
Disinheritance tactics: What you should know
There are lots of different reasons that a parent may choose to disinherit one of their children – and it’s not always an adversarial situation. For example, parents may choose to disinherit capable, successful adult children to leave more resources behind for their...
Estate planning essentials: The “peace of mind” folder
Estate planning is the critical process of ensuring asset management and distribution according to your wishes after your death. However, your family, or at least your chosen personal representative, needs to be able to find your estate plan documents. A special...
Do you need to go to a will reading?
In the past, people would find out what they were inheriting at a will reading. This is often used for dramatic effect in movies and television shows. For instance, someone may be surprised to find out that they have inherited the family business or outraged to...
Are there witness requirements for a South Carolina will?
Wills are important state planning documents. For some people, a will might be the only document that they establish. For others, their wills create the foundation that they build upon with other paperwork. Will provide instructions about what happens with someone's...
How often do estate plans need to be updated?
Estate planning is a so-called “living process,” as estate planning documentation benefits from periodic review and updates to better ensure that it remains aligned with your life circumstances, financial situation and goals. As a general guideline, reviewing your...
Irrevocable trusts play an important role in estate planning
One of the most important tasks an adult has to handle is creating an estate plan. This sets a plan for your assets so a transfer from you to your loved ones can happen after you die. There are several options for laying out who gets what. One of these is an...
Making charity a part of your estate plan
Estate planning largely revolves around leaving assets to your loved ones upon your death. Nonetheless, there is much more to it than this. Charity plays a huge part in the lives of many people. If this is the case for you, then you may want to make charitable giving...
What are the advantages of a POD account?
A payable-on-death (POD) account is a bank account that has a beneficiary designation. Essentially, you have the ability to use a Totten trust – the technical name for the necessary paperwork – and transform your personal bank account into a POD account if you would...
Do most people already have an estate plan?
If you haven’t made an estate plan yet, you may think that you’re falling behind. Perhaps you assume that most people already have a plan in place, and you’re the one who needs to get caught back up. In fact, maybe this assumption is why you are now considering making...