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Have a Trust? How the Corporate Transparency Act Affects You

April 29, 2024

Get ready for an interesting twist in the world of legal and business news. You may already be familiar w...

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.

Have a Trust? How the Corporate Transparency Act Affects You

Get ready for an interesting twist in the world of legal and business news. You may already be familiar w...

Keep the Government and Lawsuit Happy Opportunists Away From Your Children’s Inheritance

If you have a current estate plan, I'll bet you plan to leave your assets to your children outright and u...

Before You Agree to Be a Trustee, Read This!

Being asked by a loved one to serve as Trustee for their Trust upon their death can be quite an honor, bu...

4 Essential Strategies For Protecting Your Family's Assets

You might think that only the super wealthy need to worry about asset protection planning. But the truth ...

3 Reasons Why Transferring Ownership Of Your Home To Your Child Is A Bad Idea

Whether it’s to qualify for Medicaid, avoid probate, or reduce your tax burden, transferring ownership of...

How Naming Guardians For Your Kids In Your Will Can Leave Them At Risk

If you are a mom or dad with children under the age of 18 at home, your number-one estate planning priori...

Does Your Family Need Umbrella Insurance?

In today’s highly litigious society you are at near-constant risk for costly lawsuits—even if you’ve done...

Protect Your Children’s Inheritance With A Lifetime Asset Protection Trust

As a parent, you’re likely hoping to leave your children an inheritance. In fact, doing so may be one of ...

7 Last-Minute Moves To Save On Your Taxes For 2021

Although many strategies to save on your income taxes must be locked in before the end of the year, there...

Probate: What It Is & How To Avoid It—Part 2

Unless you’ve created an estate plan that works to keep your family out of court, when you die (or become...

Probate: What It Is & How To Avoid It—Part 1

Unless you’ve created a proper estate plan, when you die many of your assets must first pass through the ...

Protect Your Home, Family, and Assets From The Threat Of Natural Disasters

Over just the last two years, we’ve seen historic levels of damage caused by natural disasters in the U.S...

4 Reasons Why Estate Planning Is So Essential For Business Owners

If you are running a business, it’s easy to give estate planning less priority than your other business m...

Purchasing Life Insurance For Your Family: What You Need To Know

Life insurance is a key component of your family’s estate plan, offering those who depend on you for thei...

Why Putting Your Family Home In A Trust Is A Smart Move—Part 2

This article is part two of a two-part series on the benefits of putting your home in a trust. Part one o...

Why Putting Your Family Home In A Trust Is A Smart Move—Part 1

If you are like many homeowners, your home is likely your family’s most valuable and treasured asset. In ...

The Basics On NFTs: The Newest Cryptoverse Craze

NFTs, or “non-fungible tokens,” are the latest sensation in the cryptocurrency universe, or as we like to...

2021 Estate Planning Checkup: Is Your Estate Plan Up to Date?

Even if you put a totally solid estate plan in place, it can turn out to be worthless for the people you ...

Why You Need a Trust - Even if You Aren't Rich

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

3 Ways To Benefit By Incorporating Charitable Giving Into Your Estate Plan

You are likely well aware of the tax benefits that come from donating to charity during your lifetime—don...

All You Need to Know About Including Digital Assets In Your Estate Plan—Part 2

Recent advances in digital technology have made many aspects of our lives exponentially easier and more c...

All You Need to Know About Including Digital Assets In Your Estate Plan—Part 1

Recent advances in digital technology have made many aspects of our lives exponentially easier and more c...

3 Estate Planning Issues For LGBTQ+ Couples—Part 1

Whether you are married or in a committed partnership, estate planning is about much more than planning f...

Does Your Estate Plan Protect Your Intellectual Property?

If you own a business, you almost certainly have intellectual property. However, because your intellectua...

Getting Divorced? Don’t Overlook These 4 Updates to Your Estate Plan—Part 2

Going through divorce can be an overwhelming experience that impacts nearly every facet of your life, inc...

Getting Divorced? Don’t Overlook These 4 Updates to Your Estate Plan—Part 1

Going through divorce can be an overwhelming experience that impacts nearly every facet of your life, inc...

4 Reasons Why You Can’t Afford to Go Without An Estate Plan

October 19th-25th, 2020 is National Estate Planning Awareness Week, so if you've been thinking about crea...

Lost An Old 401(k)? Here Are 6 Tips For Finding It

The days of working for a single employer for decades until you retire are over. Today, you are much more...

What the Netflix Series Tiger King Can Teach You About Asset Protection -Part 3

Anyone who has seen the hit Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness can attest that i...

How to Avoid the Need For a Prenuptial Agreement—Part 2

If you are engaged to be married, divorce is probably the last thing you and your fiancé want to be think...

How to Avoid the Need For a Prenuptial Agreement—Part 1

If you’re counting down the days to your wedding, divorce is probably the last thing you and your fiancé ...

The SECURE Act’s Impact On Estate and Retirement Planning—Part 2

In the first part of this series, we discussed the potential ramifications the SECURE ACT has for your es...

The SECURE Act’s Impact On Estate and Retirement Planning—Part 1

On January 1, 2020, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) went into ...

5 Steps For Adding Digital Assets To Your Estate Plan

Although digital technology has made many aspects of our lives much easier and more convenient, it has al...

Lifetime Asset Protection Trusts: Airtight Protection For Your Child’s Inheritance - 2

In the first part of this series, we discussed a unique planning tool known as a Lifetime Asset Protectio...

Lifetime Asset Protection Trusts: Airtight Protection For Your Child’s Inheritance

As a parent, you’re likely hoping to leave your children an inheritance. In fact, doing so may be one of ...

Safeguard Your Children's Inheritance With a Lifetime Asset Protection Trust

Last week, we discussed the benefits of a unique estate planning vehicle known as Lifetime Asset Protecti...

Lifetime Asset Protection Trusts Can Protect Your Family From Wealth's Dark Side

When you create your estate plan, the idea that one of your adult children would ever use their inheritan...

4 Ways Wise Planning Can Protect Your Family’s Assets

While most people assume only the uber wealthy need to worry about asset protection, those with less weal...

7 Events That Necessitate a Review of Your Estate Plan

Even if you put a totally solid estate plan in place, it can end up proving worthless if it’s not properl...

Could an IRA Trust Benefit Your Family?

Unlike most of your assets, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) do not pass to your family through a wi...

Saving What Matters: 12 Must-Have Items To Pack in Your Go-Bag

It’s the middle of the night. The authorities just notified you that you have 20 minutes to evacuate your...

Is Your Home Insured Against Natural Disasters?

From wildfires in California and hurricanes in Texas to floods in West Virginia, hardly any area of the U...

Don’t Forget to Include Your Digital Assets In Your Estate Plan—Part 2

In the first part of this series, we discussed the importance of including your digital assets in your es...

Don’t Forget to Include Your Digital Assets In Your Estate Plan—Part 1

If you’ve created an estate plan, it likely includes traditional wealth and assets like finances, real es...

How to Fix Errors in Your Credit Report

While some of those TV commercials for free credit-score report companies are pretty funny, having errors...

Questions and Answers About Personal Liability Umbrella Insurance

It’s no secret that we live in a litigious society. And though our right to a fair trial is one of the ha...

Don’t Transfer Ownership of Your House to Your Kids Before You Read This

With the cost of long-term care (LTC) skyrocketing, you may be concerned about your (or your elderly pare...

Donate to a Charitable Remainder Trust For Tax and Income Benefits

If you have highly appreciated assets like stock and real estate you want to sell, it may make sense to u...

Safeguard Your Cryptocurrency Assets With Estate Planning

One of the biggest appeals of cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, is that it is decentralized, unregulated, and...

I Don’t Have Kids, So Why Do I Need Estate Planning? Part 2

Last week, we shared the first part of our series on the importance of estate planning for those without ...

I Don’t Have Kids, So Why Do I Need Estate Planning? Part 1

It’s a common misconception to think that if you don’t have children, you don’t need to worry about estat...

Ensure the Security of Your Senior Parents' Identity and Financial Assets

Today, we live in an uber-connected world, where nearly every type of financial transaction—shopping, ban...

The Key Differences Between Wills and Trusts

When discussing estate planning, a will is what most people think of first. Indeed, wills have been the m...

Choosing the Right Life Insurance Policy

While purchasing life insurance may seem pretty straightforward, it’s actually quite complex, especially ...

Common Estate Planning Issues for a Second (or More) Marriage

These days, second and even third marriages are fairly commonplace. And the estate planning issues that a...

The Pitfalls of DIY Wills: Lessons Learned from a Florida Probate Case

DIY wills are becoming more prevalent as legal services can now be accessed easily online. For better or ...

What to Do With Surplus Cash: Pay Down Debt, Spend or Invest?

When you come into a cash surplus from a company bonus, a tax refund, an inheritance or something similar...

Planning to Protect Your Assets

Asset protection planning is an important step to take in safeguarding your hard-earned assets from being...

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Blockchain -- What Happens When You Die?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about Bitcoin. But, you may not know what i...

The Real Cost of Caring

Dealing with the financial stressors of caring for an aging loved one can affect your ability to provide ...

How (and Why) to Disinherit a Child or Grandchild

Completely disinheriting a child or grandchild should be reserved for extreme circumstances. And, if thos...

Spring Cleaning For Your Legal and Financial Affairs

Spring has officially sprung and that means it’s spring cleaning time. Shake out the rugs, clean out the ...

Why You Need to Update Your Estate Plan After These Life Events

Too many estate plans are created and then quickly forgotten, put on a shelf, and never looked at again. ...

What You Can Learn from the Clintons’ Tax Returns

In anticipation of the election and in response to public demand, Hillary and Bill Clinton have released ...

The Four Tricky Cons of 2016

Electronic technology has brought about tremendous benefits for today’s society. We can access goods, ser...

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...

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...

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...

Retirement Planning Reality Check

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

5 Things You Need to Know Before You Name Beneficiaries

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

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...

A Duty Checklist for Trustees of a Trust

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

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Leave an Inheritance for Future Generations with a Trusteed IRA

According to the Investment Company Institute, the use of IRAs for retirement saving has increased in the...

Supreme Court Decision Makes Inherited IRAs Fair Game in Bankruptcy

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision has changed the way inherited IRAs are viewed when it comes to bankr...

Financial Self-Protection Tips for the Newly Single

Whether you have a lost a spouse or partner through divorce or death, being thrust into singlehood can be...

Why Inheriting in Trust is a Must

You bring your children into the world with love. You raise them with love. If you’re going all the way a...

Robin Williams: A Lesson in Deeds, Not Words + One Error in Planning

One of the most eloquent responses to Robin Williams’ death came from his best friend Billy Crystal, who ...

How to Protect Your Real Estate Assets

If you own real estate, chances are you have purchased insurance to protect your assets against damage or...

Ask These 5 Questions Before Gifting Assets

Gifting assets can be a useful estate planning tool if you need to reduce your estate tax bill or for lon...

Before You Take Off for Summer Vacation, Take On These 5 To-Dos

It’s no surprise that Americans spend more time planning their summer vacations than they do planning the...

How Real Men Celebrate Father’s Day

Do you know what it takes to be a real man? Although the expectations of both men and women have evolved ...

Greatest Wealth Transfer in History Underway – What’s Your Plan?

A new study from the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy shows that the greatest wealth tran...

How to Balance Family Memories with Future Plans for a Vacation Home

Summer has officially arrived and for those of us fortunate enough to have a vacation home – whether it’s...

Give While You Live to Avoid a Family Feud

A recent article in the New York Post about brothers battling over a painting from their uncle’s estate s...

How to Protect Life Insurance Proceeds from Taxation

If you have been responsible enough to purchase a life insurance policy as added protection for your love...

4 Steps You Should Take to Protect Your Money

Asset protection is not something most people think too deeply about. Most of us are busy trying to accum...

How to Preserve a Family Vacation Home with a Trust

If you are fortunate enough to have a family vacation home, you know the emotional value it holds for eve...

6 Tax Questions to Ask Before Year-End

Everyone’s “to-do” lists seem to grow longer at this time of year, but yours is incomplete until you ask ...

7 Reasons to Consider a Trust for Your Family

Do you consider trusts to be instruments of the wealthy? While it is true that many Americans of means ha...

How Much Do You Charge for a Will?

If you came to this page to find out what I’ll charge you for a Will or you are considering calling me (o...

Windsor Ruling Expands Estate Planning Prospects for Married Same-Sex Couples

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor invalidated the federal Defense of Mar...

7 Good Reasons You Need An Estate Plan -- Even If You Only Have $500 in the Bank

Contrary to popular belief, estate planning is not just about money or taxes. Far from it. Today, it’s mo...

How to Ensure Your Life Insurance Benefits Go to Your Heirs

Recently, 11 major life insurance companies agreed to pay $763 million to the heirs of deceased policyhol...

10 Common Errors When Naming Life Insurance Beneficiaries That Will Hurt the People You Love – and How to Fix Them

If you make a mistake in naming beneficiaries for your life insurance policy, the people you love will en...

How to Avoid Family Conflict When Making an Estate Plan

Unfortunately, money has a habit of bringing out the worst in people, even in the best of families. One o...

6 Cases When a Trust is Better Than a Will

A will is one of the most basic estate planning documents, and everyone should have one to make sure that...

5 Key Decisions to Make With Your Spouse Before You Retire

Retirement decision-making for boomers is very different than it was for our parents, when it was usually...

Striking a Balance Between Funding Your Retirement and Your Child’s Education

Many parents perceive a conflict between funding a child’s college education and building their own retir...

The Risks of Poorman’s Estate Planning: How to Pass on Property & Avoid Probate the Right Way

They call it the “poor man’s estate planning.” Put your child on the title to your deed and avoid probate...

Congratulations! It’s an Estate Plan! Protecting Your Newborn From Birth

In the process of becoming new parents, many couples become experts at planning – scheduling the birthing...

Tips to Help You Reboot Your Retirement Plan

Planning for a long and prosperous retirement is no longer just about the money; because of the recession...

The Fiscal Cliff Tax Deal: For Most of Us, It's a Wash

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 that Congress passed on New Year's Day extended the Bush era tax...

What is the Difference Between a Will-based plan and a Trust-based plan?

In this article I will explain the difference between a Will-based plan and a Trust-based plan so you can...

Savvy Year-End Tax Moves for Retirement Plan Owners

Even though the elections are over, no one knows what Congress will do by the end of the year when it com...

Retirement Planning Guidelines for Every Age

You’re never too young or too old to save for retirement; here are some guidelines by age group: Under 25...

How to Correctly Name Beneficiaries for Your IRAs

You could be unintentionally reducing your family’s wealth potential if you do not properly designate the...

What to Do When You Inherit a Retirement Account

As a Personal Family Lawyer®, I am often asked to help people who inherit a retirement account. The actio...

What a Will Won’t Do

There are a number of essential things a last will and testament can do for you, such as distribute famil...

Avoid these 10 Common Estate Planning Mistakes

As a Personal Family Lawyer®, I see many of the same estate planning mistakes made time and again by peop...

How to Protect Your Assets from a Child’s Divorce

A child’s wedding day is one of the happiest occasions in life for most parents, especially when they app...

PFL firms in your area

Hi, I’m Pam Starsia. I became a Personal Family Lawyer because I’m passionate about educating and empowering people to create estate, life, ...

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Juniper Law, PLLC

I became a Personal Family Lawyer to help people like you and families like yours plan for the future. Facing the potential for incapacity a...

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Das Law, PLLC

Let’s talk about your death . . . or incapacity. If something unfortunate happens, what will happen to your assets that you’ve worked so har...

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Legacy Lawyers, PLLC

Hi. I’m John W. Heck. I became a Personal Family Lawyer because I have seen the consequences of failed estate planning in my immediate famil...

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Edris Law

In my practice, I focus on Family Protection, Wealth Preservation, and Value-Based Planning. I’m also experienced with wealth planning strat...

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Brown Law Offices

Lisa Brown Esq. is the principal attorney for Brown Law Offices. She received her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and ...

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Millennium Attorney

Naureen Rahman has been practicing law for over twenty years in the Maryland, DC-Metropolitan area. She has practiced across numerous sector...

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Reflections Life Planning, LLC

I love being able to guide my clients through a unique planning process that empowers them to live a financially fulfilling life now while e...

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I am an attorney dedicated to helping families in Virginia navigate the world of estate planning. With over 22 years of legal experience, I'...

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