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Honoring Your Sacrifice: Estate Planning Essentials for Military Families

Each year on November 11, the nation pauses to honor the courage and sacrifice of those who’ve served in ...

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Latest Articles

There is no shortage of advice flying around about estate planning, much of it from people who aren't even lawyers. Get insight on the popular pitfalls and how emerging economic shifts like cryptocurrency can affect your plan.

Even Celebrities Like Queen Latifah Act as Caregivers for Their Aging Parents

We may not think about it often, but even celebrities take care of their aging parents. Actress, singer, ...

Kelly Clarkson Starts Blended Family: What She Needs to Consider

Starting a new family is always exciting and even a tad scary. This natural apprehension can be enhanced ...

How can I help my grandchild with college without jeopardizing financial aid?

Q: How can I help my grandchild with college without jeopardizing financial aid? -- Worried Grandparent A...

Life Is Multifaceted: Teach a Child to Be Open and Embrace Complexities

When you picture a “normal” family, what do you see? Is it the traditional notion of one male parent and ...

Signing Up for Medicare: The Facts For You or Your Parents Nearing Age 65

People who are nearing the age of 65 should be making plans for the transition from private health care t...

Guiding Your Children to Grow Through Failure -- a Gift That Keeps On Giving

Laws and rules are created within organized societies to regulate interaction and protect citizens. A cla...

When Is the Purchase of Long-Term Care Insurance Worth It?

Elder Care is emerging as a significant issue for many people as life spans continue to increase. It is n...

I know I need to make a will, but somehow planning for death makes it seem so much more real. How can I overcome my fear?

Q: I know I need to make a will, but somehow planning for death makes it seem so much more real. How can ...

Parenting: Build Your Child’s Resilience to Support Their Ultimate Success

If you are like most parents, your primary objective is to support your children to be prepared to handle...

Give Back: Donate Your Empty Pill Bottles to Make a Difference

When we pick up our prescriptions, we take the containers for granted. By contrast, in many countries med...

Five Valuable Traits a Child Can Learn from Working Parents

Those of us who work sometimes feel that we are doing our children a disservice. Sure, we bring home a pa...

Are You Leaving Your Retirement Account at Risk Due to Poor Planning?

You’ve spent your entire life building up your retirement account. It may even be the biggest asset you’l...

Do savings bonds still have a place in my financial portfolio?

Q: Do savings bonds still have a place in my financial portfolio? --Curious Investor A: Dear Curious: Sav...

Recent Superstar Death Brings Estate Planning to the Forefront of Discussion

The untimely death of superstar Prince has brought a surprising issue to American living rooms: estate pl...

How To Proactively Plan To Reduce the Impact of Caring For Elderly Family Members

Much has been written about our nation’s need to help mothers in the workplace. Many benefits, such as ma...

Emergency iPhone Health App Can Save Your Life

Have you given any thought to how emergency medical care providers know who to contact or what to do if y...

What to Do With a Cash Windfall

Many of us like to fantasize about winning the lottery. We muse with our friends about how we might spend...

How can I preserve my assets for my kids and loved ones?

Q: How can I preserve my assets for my kids and loved ones? --Caring Parent A: Dear Parent: With tax time...

Financial Myths About Getting a Divorce

If your marriage is on the rocks, one of your many worries is probably the impact divorce will have on yo...

Got a Job? Here’s How You Can Save Money You Might Be Losing Right Now

Did you know there are many steps that you can take to save money via your employment? Some of these stra...

Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Now or Save More Money?

To many people, living debt-free is a lifelong dream. It’s the picture of the easy life. Retired with no ...

Can I Benefit from a Reverse Mortgage?

It seems that we can’t turn on the television or radio without hearing an ad for a “reverse mortgage.” So...

Talking with Your Family About Your Estate Plan

Is it time to have “the talk” with your kids? We’re not talking about a “birds and bees” talk but one tha...

What is the Best Way to Save for My Child's College Education?

Q: What is the Best Way to Save for My Child's College Education? --Concerned Parent A: One of best ways ...

Pets in Your Will

For those of us who have pets that would be left behind after we die, there may be a desire to make arran...

Could This Happen to You or Your Loved One? Town Demolishes House While Owner Is in Hospital

Imagine this: your elderly uncle with no family near his home travels South to Florida for surgery and ha...

Legal Strategies to Avoid Guardianship

As senior citizens continue to age, the likelihood increases that they will become physically or mentally...

Family Financial Traditions

To some degree or another, we are all a function of the social environments in which we were raised. Of c...

Will I Ever be Able to Save Enough For Retirement?

Q: Will I Ever be Able to Save Enough For Retirement? -- Approaching Middle-Age A: Dear Approaching: Arti...

Holiday Bonus + Tax Refund Spending: Where to Put it For Max Return

Did you get a holiday bonus from your employer? Or maybe you have a tax refund coming. If so, do you have...

Watch Out for Predatory Tax Liens on Your Family Home

As our parents and other loved ones age, they may need a little more attention from us. Parents, grandpar...

Planning for Charitable Giving

January 1 wipes the slate clean for your tax deductible charitable contributions. That might be a good ti...

The Best Gift You Can Leave to Your Loved Ones

A Wisconsin woman, whose story was widely reported in media nationwide, has died. Heather McManamy, who w...

Retirement Planning Reality Check

The National Institute on Retirement Security states that the funds American workers have set aside for r...

My elderly parents don’t have much in the way of resources and their health appears to be failing. They mainly get by on Social Security. Will I be responsible to pay their medical bills or other debt

Q: My elderly parents don’t have much in the way of resources and their health appears to be failing. The...

What Happens to an Indigent Person After Death? | PFL®

There are so many people in our midst who are considered indigent. We see them on street corners, in park...

Am I Due Class Action Settlement Money?

Class action lawsuits are common in our court systems. Most everyone has received a notice in the mail of...

Mark Zuckerberg Did Not Pledge 99% of His Facebook Stock to Charity — Here’s What He Did Instead + What He Could Do Even Better

When I heard that Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, were donating 99 percent of their Fac...

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Q: With all the new gadgets and toys out this year, I'm struggling to come up with gift ideas for my frie...

How to Raise Responsible Kids - Part 4 | PFL®

Welcome back to the fourth and final article in our series on How to Raise Responsible Kids. You can read...

How to Raise Responsible Kids - Part 3

Welcome back to the third article in our series on How to Raise Responsible Kids. You can read part 1, wh...

How to Raise Responsible Kids - Part 2 | PFL®

Welcome back to the second article in our series on How to Raise Responsible Kids. You can read part 1, w...

How to Raise Responsible Kids

My guess is that if we did a poll of every parent we know and asked them what they most want for their ki...

A Gift to Your Family and the Environment: Green Burial

The practice of burying our dead in the ground has been traced back over 100,000 years ago. For the vast ...

Could an AMBER alert save your child?

As a parent, your number one job is to keep your children safe, and that’s not always easy. In our imperf...

How to Pass On Family Heirlooms Without Causing a Family Feud

The holidays are traditionally the time for family gatherings, where generations come together and perfor...

How To Leave Your Home To Your Kids

Many parents want to know the best way to leave a home to their children. Before you make a plan, you sho...

How to Ensure Your End-of-Life Wishes Are Respected

How do you want to die? Do you want lifesaving treatments to be administered even if all brain activity h...

Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage Will Have Monumental Effects

In June, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, a highly publicized...

What Is a Trust?

A trust is a legal creation set up to benefit someone or something. For example, some people set up trust...

The Top Three Things to Know Before You Sign a Residential Lease

If you own your home or you’ve been renting so long that this information is old hat to you, consider sha...

Consider Your Estate Plan Before Your Summer Travel

It’s summer, when travel is the busiest and careful planning is necessary to nab the best airfare or book...

Estate Planning for Blended Families

The term “blended family” has become commonplace in our society and refers to a family where one or both ...

Estate Planning with Gifts to Grandchildren

If you are in your “golden years” and are looking for ways to spread your wealth, you should consider the...

Protecting Your Child with a Special Needs Trust

When you have a family member with special needs, it is important to understand that your estate planning...

5 Ways to Keep Your Family Out of Court After You Die

You have likely heard over and over that there are many advantages to creating a comprehensive estate pla...

How to Protect Family Heirlooms From a Family Feud

The passing of family heirlooms from one generation to another should be welcome tradition in most famili...

What Every Single Parent Needs to Know About Estate Planning

If you are a single parent, life for you right now probably couldn’t get any busier. You are likely being...

How to Benefit from an Estate Plan When You Own Real Estate

Many parents believe that by adding a child’s name to a property deed, they can pass along the property o...

Legacy Planning: Leaving More to Your Loved Ones Than Money That Will Be Lost Quickly

The assets you leave to your loved ones can either be a source of relief or, sometimes, a source of panic...

5 Steps to Fix Your Battered Retirement Plan

It’s no secret that a majority of Americans are ill-prepared for retirement. A recent Forbes.com post det...

Why Equal Inheritance Isn't Always the Best for Your Estate Plan | PFL®

It is natural for parents to want to treat their children equally when it comes to inheritances. However,...

Estate Planning for Your Digital Afterlife

If you’re like most Americans, you have a rich digital life. You may bank online, invest online and certa...

Is Your Living Trust Really Going to Work For the People You Love?

Traditionally, one of the primary reasons for establishing a living trust has been to avoid probate. But ...

What to Do When a Spouse Suddenly Dies … Lessons from the Death of Sheryl Sandberg’s Husband, Dave Goldberg

The shock over the death of 47-year-old SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg, husband of Facebook COO Sheryl Sa...

What You Can Learn From the Estate Planning Mistakes of Others

There is much to be learned from the mistakes of others and the celebrity world abounds with cautionary t...

How You Can Avoid Being Taken Advantage of Once You Become Elderly

A 2010 study conducted by the Investor Protection Trust found that more than seven million older American...

How to Fund Your Trust to Avoid Probate

A common estate planning mistake many people make – including celebrities like Michael Jackson – is not e...

How to Tell If It’s Time to Change Your Will

Current research shows that only about half of Americans have a will, and probably less than that have ch...

5 Things You Need to Know Before You Name Beneficiaries | PFL®

Once you have chosen the people you want to receive any of your assets -- either from a will, a trust, a ...

What Families Need to Know About Debt After Death

The poverty rate among seniors is rising, giving rise to the question of whether or not it is possible to...

Debunking 4 Common Myths About Gift Taxes

April 15 is not only the deadline for filing your state and federal income tax returns, but also the dead...

Family Loans Must Be Made Properly to Avoid Tax Repercussions

The recession made many parents and grandparents into personal bankers, making loans to strapped children...

A Duty Checklist for Trustees of a Trust | PFL®

It’s no misnomer that a position with so much responsibility carries the name “trustee”. After all, you h...

10 Items That Should be Evaluated During an Estate Plan Review

Estate planning is an ongoing process, and plans should be reviewed with a qualified estate planning atto...

The Importance of Providing for Incapacity in Your Estate Plan

Avoiding the need for a conservatorship – the process whereby someone is appointed by a court to assume r...

How Long-Term Care Planning Can Protect You From Medicaid Divorce

Currently, it is estimated that 7 in 10 Americans will need some type of long-term care, with Medicaid ex...

Unintended Consequences from the Case of the Missing Will

Even the best intentions can have unintended consequences when it comes to estate planning. A case now wi...

The Pros and Cons of Prenuptial Agreements

Americans today are getting married later in life. Currently, the average age of a first marriage is 27 f...

Asset Protection: When a Will Won’t Work

One of the most prevalent misconceptions when it comes to estate planning is that if you have a will, it ...

What Women Need to Know About Estate Planning

Women outlive men, make less during their careers and have less in savings due to pay discrepancies and t...

Protecting Our Family When It Matters Most

A drama currently playing out in a French courtroom demonstrates that any elderly person can fall victim ...

No More Reasons for Delay in Implementing These 5 Estate Planning Essentials

Last year’s uncertainty about the future of the estate and gift tax caused many people to put their estat...

Help for Dealing with a Parent’s Dementia Diagnosis

Alzheimer’s Disease is in the news again thanks to Academy Award winner Julianne Moore’s performance in t...

The Basic Estate Planning Task EVERY Adult Needs to Review Today

With the federal estate tax exemption at $5.43 million for 2015, many people think estate planning is unn...

Robin Williams’ Family Fight Over Personal Property Not So Funny

Robin Williams’ wife Susan has gone to court over personal items she says were taken from the couple’s Ti...

Reasons to Establish a Trust (and Being Rich Isn’t One of Them)

When you hear the words, “trust fund,” do you conjure up images of stately mansions and party yachts? A t...

No One Feeling Good About Continuing Battle Over James Brown Estate | PFL®

James Brown was known for his signature song, “I Feel Good,” but no one is feeling good about the battle ...

“And the Estate Planning Oscar Goes To...” Lessons on Film About Family

The film “Black Heirlooms” has not received any Oscar nominations. It was made by 32-year-old Amanda Brow...

Why Everyone Needs an Agent

Everyone needs an agent – and not the Hollywood type. An agent is someone you designate to handle your es...

Life Lessons From Celebrity Deaths on Updating Your Estate Plan

A new year always brings the sad reviews of notable personalities who have died in the past year. Two not...

10 Tips to Ensure Family Harmony Over Your Estate Plan

When your children were small, you no doubt suffered the challenge of keeping peace in the family. We see...

Why You Should Get Estate Planning Off Your To-Do List in 2015

There are many goals most of us want to accomplish in life, and some of the most important ones center on...

Joan Rivers Has Last Laugh Through Use of a Family Trust

Famous comedienne, Joan Rivers, who died unexpectedly on September 4, 2014, from what is alleged to be a ...

‘Tis the Season to Be Gifting: How to Do It Right

Not many people would view the IRS as a charitable organization, but you might if you plan your gifting a...

Senior Drivers and Safe Driving

One of the uncomfortable moments of life for many people is when they try to address automobile ownership...

Special Needs Trust: Protection for Those Who Need It the Most

Families of those with disabilities - physical or mental - are typically concerned with the best way to f...

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to...Diamonds? Creating an Ever-Lasting Memorial Through Science

Here are two scientific facts: Diamonds are forever. We are not. However, through science, there is now a...

How to Reduce the Cost of Long-Term Care Insurance | PFL®

A person who turns 65 today has a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care at some time in their...

The Final Log-Off: What Happens to Your Data When You Die?

Take a moment and consider how much of your life you live online. If you are like most of us, you bank, p...

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