Articles Posted in Wills & Trusts

A recently conducted a survey of pet owners and found nearly half (44%) of pet owners have prepared for the future care of their animals should their pets outlive them. Utilizing traditional financial planning instruments such as living trusts, life insurance and annuities, pet owners are able to have peace of mind knowing that their…

The internet offers many ways to create your own estate planning documents and you can take that route if you want to save money, but you are better off hiring a professional to insure all your documentation is legally valid. There’s nothing wrong with saving some dough by drafting your own estate-planning documents. You can…

We’ve written ad nauseum about how less that half of Americans have a will. Well, almost that many also forget to include their digital assets in their estate plan. Most Americans don’t keep track of their online assets like Paypal, Facebook, and merchant loyalty reward programs and chances are will forget to include them in…

You can make a living will without a lawyer’s help. Most states have designed their health care forms, called Living Wills and Health Care Proxies in New York, with the specific intention you will complete them yourself. Usually, you’ll need to consult a health care professional or an attorney only if there is something about…

The world’s most populous nation, China has the second-largest economy and one of the highest savings rates and mushrooming wealth. Yet virtually no one has a will, and that’s a big problem. The first generation, thirty years after China embarked on a course that allowed individuals to accumulate wealth, is statring to die. This dieoff…

The second man to walk on the moon, 88-year-old 88 Buzz Aldrin is fighting his two youngest children who he claims are colluding with his former manager Christina Korp to seize control of his estate by alleging that he has dementia. He sued the trio in a Florida court in June. Korp and the Aldrin…

New York is one of 12 states that tax estates of decedents people who owned property in the state. Now besides that, there are other things you need to know when estate planning. New York doesn’t charge inheritance tax, but the estate tax comes with one big provision. Though December 31st of this year there…

For purposes of life planning, many people make the mistake of think a living will is the same as a health care proxy. They are two different animals, but both are necessary. A health car proxy is also known as a health care power of attorney. A living will allows you to designate some to…

A crypt beneath New York’s Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral is available for $7 million. This isn’t just any crypt, It’s one of the last full-body burial spots in Manhattan and can hold nine caskets and 10 cremated remains. And at least three prominent NYC families have already inquired about it. Today, funerals are…

Aretha Franklin may have been the Queen of Soul, but she made gigantic estate planning mistakes that you should avoid. Franklin, who was divorced, died without a will or a trust despite having four grown children, one of whom has special needs. If you follow in her footsteps could mean your loved ones won’t receive…