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4 Ways to Use AI to Make Life Easier for You and Your Family

Whether you’re turning on the news or scrolling through Instagram, it’s hard not to hear about AI technol...

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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.

4 Ways to Use AI to Make Life Easier for You and Your Family

Whether you’re turning on the news or scrolling through Instagram, it’s hard not to hear about AI technol...

Don't Let Your Kids Leave Home Without Signing These 3 Document

As we head into summer, many parents will see their children graduate high school and prepare to leave ho...

Don’t Leave Your Children With The Babysitter Until You Read This | PFL®

As we head into the third year of the pandemic, we are coming to terms with just how fragile our lives an...

One of The Greatest Gifts To Your Family Is The Plan For Incapacity

When it comes to estate planning, most people automatically think about taking legal steps to ensure the ...

How Estate Planning Can Bring Blended Families Closer

Yours, mine and ours … in today’s modern family, it’s oh so common. The blended family is the product of ...

Estate Planning Must-Haves For Single Parents | PFL®

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

Estate Planning For A Child With Special Needs: What Parents Need To Know

Estate planning is an obvious concern for all parents, but if you have a child with special needs, it’s c...

3 Estate Planning Issues For LGBTQ Couples—Part 2

Whether you are married or not, if you are involved in a committed partnership with another individual, e...

The Perfect Father’s Day Gift for Every Father

When you are a kid, finding a suitable gift for Father’s Day can be a struggle. You want to get Dad somet...

3 Vital Estate Planning Documents For High School Graduates

With the arrival of summer, young people across the country are about to reach a key milestone: high scho...

Looking for the Best Mother’s Day Gift Ever? Try The Kids Protection Plan

Although we initially planned to run part two of last week’s post on Aretha Franklin’s failed estate plan...

Managing Child Care While Dealing With Illness: Tips For Parents—Part 2

Even though there are now vaccines for the pandemic and the number of new cases is on the decline, becomi...

Parenting With COVID-19: Tips for Single Parents (Part 1) | PFL®

Even though there are now vaccines for COVID-19 and the number of new cases is on the decline, becoming i...

5 Tips For Keeping Kids Connected With Grandparents During the Pandemic

While the quarantines, shutdowns, and social distancing measures related to the pandemic have been diffic...

Once Your Kids Are 18, Make Sure They Sign These Documents

While estate planning is probably one of the last things your teenage kids are thinking about, given the ...

Who Would Care For Your Children If You Got Sick With COVID-19?

The pandemic is causing us to consider a lot of things that we may not have before, even if maybe we shou...

3 Unique Ways to Handle the Guilt Inherent to Being a Parent

If you’re a parent, you may feel even more guilty than usual. If so, you are definitely not alone. Curren...

Money Talk: How Much Will You Share With Your Kids (and When)?

In many families, money still is not a typical dinner table discussion, but we think it should be. Surpri...

Don’t Let Your Kids Move Out Without Signing These Documents

Watching your kids leave home to attend college or start their career can be an emotional time for you as...

Airtight Protection For Your Child’s Inheritance - Part 2 | PFL®

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

Lifetime Asset Protection Trusts: Secure Your Child's Inheritance | PFL®

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

Is Platonic or Co-Parenting Right For You?

With societal attitudes about love, marriage, and parenting constantly evolving, our perception of what c...

Use Estate Planning to Ensure Your Legacy Doesn’t Get Erased

When you think about those loved ones who’ve passed away, you probably don’t think very much—or even at a...

How Will The Coming Wealth Transfer Affect Your Family?

Whether it’s called “The Great Wealth Transfer,” “The Silver Tsunami,” or some other catchy-sounding name...

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...

7 Processes to Complete With Your Parents Before They Die

In a recent Facebook post “Processes to go through with your parents before they die,” Daniel Schmachtenb...

Reclaim Your Role as Your Child’s Primary Influence—Part 2

In the first part of this series, we discussed how today’s children are increasingly influenced more by t...

Reclaim Your Role as Your Child’s Primary Influence—Part 1

Have you ever felt that the unbreakable bond you once had with your children is seriously eroding? It can...

4 Ways Estate Planning Can Improve Relationships with Loved Ones

With the holiday season here, you’re probably spending lots of time with your family and friends. During ...

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

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

Use Estate Planning to Enrich Your Family With More Than Just Material Wealth

In the weeks before her death from ovarian cancer, author Amy Krouse Rosenthal gave her husband Jason one...

One Instance Where ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ Might Be A Good Idea

You might not be a big fan of their typical life choices, but the Kardashians recently demonstrated impre...

6 Key Steps For Conscious Co-Parenting: Part Two

Last week, we shared the first part of this series, discussing some of the key steps for conscious co-par...

6 Key Steps For Conscious Co-Parenting: Part One

Committing to a conscious divorce means protecting your children from end-of-marriage related trauma. Whe...

Do Your Homework to Ensure Your Kids Are Properly Cared For No Matter What

It’s back-to-school time again, and when it comes to estate planning you may have homework to do. As a pa...

The Ins and Outs of Collecting Life Insurance Policy Proceeds

Unlike many estate assets, if you’re looking to collect the proceeds of a life insurance policy, the proc...

Appoint a Guardian to Keep Your Kids In Safe Hands At All Times

Probably every parent who has watched the news lately has felt the heartbreak over what’s happening to im...

Guardianship and Trusts for Children with Special Needs | PFL®

It always surprises me to hear parents who have a child with special needs tell me that they were not awa...

6 Steps to Select and Name the Right Guardians for Your Children—Part 2

Last week, we shared the first part of our series on selecting and naming the right guardians for your ch...

6 Steps to Select and Name the Right Guardians for Your Children—Part 1

One of your most important responsibilities as a parent is to select and legally document guardians for y...

How and When to Talk to Your Children About Money

Whether you consider yourself wealthy or not, you need to think about how (and when) you’ll talk with you...

Before Your Kids Leave For College, Make Sure They Sign These Documents

With high school graduation coming up, many parents will soon watch their children become adults (at leas...

3 Key Benefits of Conscious Uncoupling

The concept of conscious uncoupling, or conscious divorce, has been around for decades in the psychothera...

Same-Gender Couples Fighting for Parental Rights Can Use Estate Planning

In 2015, when the Supreme Court ruled that same-gender couples had the right to marry, the LGBTQ communit...

The Real Planned Parenthood: Platonic Parenting

Divorce can be one of the most unpleasant—and often traumatic—experiences of your life, especially if you...

Want to Be an Awesome Parent? Stop Stressing and Spend More Time on Self-Care

All parents have undoubtedly felt guilty at some point for not spending enough time with their children. ...

Easy Mistakes to Avoid When Passing Assets to Your Child

Setting up a trust fund for your children can ensure that the money you are leaving behind for them is ta...

How to Buy Life Insurance Like a Pro | PFL®

Life insurance is a purchase only made once or twice in a lifetime, so it is common to be unaware of the ...

Your Rights as the Parent of a Young Adult - What to Know When a Medical Crisis Hits

As a parent, you are most likely quite accustomed to managing the legal and medical affairs of your child...

Commit to Your Estate Plan Before Committing to a Trip Away

If you are planning a vacation, you probably have a lot to prepare for before you get away. Between struc...

How (and Why) to Disinherit a Child or Grandchild | PFL®

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

Defining the Legal Relationship Between Grandparents and Their Grandchildren

Raising a grandchild (or even spending a lot of time with your grandchild while his or her parents work) ...

The Future of Finances: How to Teach Your Kids to Be Money Savvy

Part of being an enlightened parent is being thoughtful about how we teach our kids about adult life. Of ...

When Duty Calls: Navigating the Sandwich Generation with Ease

The average age of parents raising children in the US continues to rise, leaving many middle-aged America...

Watch Out for This Predatory Phone Scam

Today, even the most conscientious can fall victim to phone scams. Claiming everything from free cruise v...

Estate Planning Essentials for Parents

A comprehensive estate plan can protect the things that matter most. For many, this means their property ...

How to Incorporate Family Values in Your Estate Planning

Baby boomers know money isn’t the only important aspect of estate planning. A 2012 study released by the ...

How Common Assets Impact Your Child's Financial Aid Eligibility | PFL®

Financial aid is a valuable resource for students and their families. And sending a child off to college ...

Is Your Family “Too Young” to Need an Estate Plan?

Young families face different estate planning needs and challenges than those who have had a long life be...

Khan Academy Reinforces Critical Education Skills - for Free!

The quality of the education a child receives through public or private school systems can vary greatly. ...

Name Legal Guardians for Your Kids for Free On This Website

One of the hardest things to do as a human being is to acknowledge our mortality. Some people even seem t...

Legal Rights of Grandparents: In Honor of National Grandparents Day

When all is ideal in a family, the bond between grandparent and child is a special one. Maybe you’ve even...

Permission To Love Your Children

This is your letter of permission to go ahead and simply love your children. Put down those expectations ...

Five Reasons To Never Give An Outright Inheritance To Your Children - and What to Do Instead!

If you’re like me, you want to leave an inheritance for your children. It’s likely part of what you are w...

How to Continue Your Family Values for Generations

Most of us want to make a mark in the world. That’s a big part of what gives our lives meaning. And wheth...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

Family Financial Traditions

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

‘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...

How to Create a Lifetime of Care for a Special Needs Child

Parents of children with special needs usually share one overriding concern: what will happen to my child...

7 Things To Think About Before Making Gifts to Grandchildren

If you have grandchildren - or are getting ready to welcome one like political power couple Bill and Hill...

The 4 Key Life Skills Your Children Need to Have Before They Inherit

Inherited wealth need not be “an albatross around the neck of the children” as Sting so succinctly put it...

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...

If You Don’t Trust Your Kids with Money, You Need a Trust

While most parents have the best intentions when it comes to teaching their children about handling finan...

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...

A Plan for Protecting Your Most Valuable Asset: Your Children

If you have young children, chances are that your summer activities include some careful planning to keep...

Will the Inheritance You Leave Be a Blessing or an Albatross?

Rock musician Sting recently announced that his children will not inherit his estimated $300 million fort...

The Legal Planning You Need to Do for Your High School Graduate

If you’re the parent of a high school graduate this year, congratulations! You’ve put in a lot of time an...

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...

Unconditional Love Doesn’t Have to Mean Unconditional Inheritance

Most parents love their children unconditionally and want to do whatever they can to smooth life’s rough ...

The Wealth Creation Trust: A Gift That Keeps On Giving

The perfect gift for your child or grandchild on the occasion of their birth, Bar or Bat Mitzvah, Sweet 1...

Vacations Are the Perfect Time for Families to Talk About Estate Planning

If you are like most Americans, you will probably be spending at least some of your vacation time this su...

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