PFL® Updates: Big things are happening at our blog, get the insight you and your family need...

Resources

BECOME A PFL® FIRM

FIND YOUR PFL® FIRM

PERSONAL
FAMILY LAWYER®

Find a PFL® Firm

Resources

What the National Debt Ceiling Extension Means for Your Family

You’ve probably heard about the national debt ceiling and its recent extension, but you might wonder what...

Discover Practical Planning Solutions

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.

What the National Debt Ceiling Extension Means for Your Family

You’ve probably heard about the national debt ceiling and its recent extension, but you might wonder what...

Want to Grow Wealth? Warren Buffet's Unexpected Investment Advice

If you are going to take investment and estate planning advice from anyone, Warren Buffett is likely one ...

Checklist: 5 Financial Decisions to Consider Before December 31 | PFL®

This week, before the year ends, consider these 5 financial, retirement and tax actions you may need to t...

4 Year-End Tax-Saving Strategies For 2022

Although the end of the year can be a hectic time, it’s also the deadline for your family to implement a ...

Trusts & Taxes: What You Need To Know

People often come to us curious—or confused—about the role trusts play in saving on taxes. Given how freq...

President Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan Explained With FAQs

This August, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced...

Saving For Your Child’s College Education—Part 2

If you have started to save for your child or grandchild’s college education, it’s worth considering whet...

Saving For Your Child’s College Education—Part 1

If you have started to save for your child or grandchild’s college education, it’s worth considering whet...

Key Milestones For Planning Your Retirement

The road to retirement is a long one, and as with any journey, it helps to have a few key milestones alon...

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...

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 1

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

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 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...

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...

Bob Ross' Estate Planning Mistakes: Lessons for Biz Owners PT 2 | PFL®

As the host of the wildly popular The Joy of Painting TV series on PBS, Bob Ross became a pop-culture ico...

A Not-So-Happy Accident: Bob Ross’s Estate Planning Failures —Part 1

As the host of the wildly popular The Joy of Painting TV series on PBS, Bob Ross became a pop-culture ico...

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...

DMX’s Estate Battle: No Will, Millions in Debt, 15 Heirs – Part 2 | PFL®

Legendary hip hop artist DMX—born Earl Simmons—passed away on April 9 at age 50 after suffering a massive...

DMX Dies Without a Will, in Debt, Leaving 15 Children – Part 1 | PFL®

Legendary hip hop artist DMX—born Earl Simmons—passed away on April 9 at age 50 after suffering a massive...

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...

6 Ways The American Rescue Plan Can Boost Your Family’s Finances—Part 2

Signed into law on March 11th, President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) is ...

6 Ways The American Rescue Plan Can Boost Your Family’s Finances - Part 1

Signed into law on March 11th, President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) is ...

7 Ways To Save Big Money On Your 2020 Taxes—Part 2

2020 was a nightmarish year for many families. But thanks to recent legislation, you could see a silver l...

7 Ways To Save Big Money On Your 2020 Taxes—Part 1

2020 was a nightmarish year for many families. But thanks to recent legislation, you could see a silver l...

New Developments Transform the Role Life Insurance Plays in Your Planning

Within the past year, a combination of new legislation and the recent change of leadership in the White H...

4 Tips For Talking About Estate Planning With Your Family Over the Holidays

With COVID-19 still raging, your 2020 holiday season may not feature the big family get-togethers of year...

Remarrying In Midlife? Avoid Accidently Disinheriting Your Loved Ones

Today, we’re seeing more and more people getting divorced in middle age and beyond. Indeed, the trend of ...

Start Planning Now to Prepare Your Estate for a Possible Democratic Sweep—Part 2

No matter who you vote for on November 3rd, you may want to start considering the potential legal, financ...

Start Planning Now to Prepare Your Estate for a Possible Democratic Sweep—Part 1

No matter who you are voting for on November 3rd, you may want to start considering the potential legal, ...

6 Changes to Watch For In Your 2020 Taxes | PFL®

Although you may have just filed your 2019 income taxes in July, now is the time to start thinking about ...

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...

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 ...

Is It Time to Go Solo(preneur)?

There’s nothing like a major change in the economic climate to make you rethink your day job. “Business a...

Learning to Flourish, Even in a Financial Crisis

Maybe you, like many of us, have been raised to think that the safest way to live in the working world is...

The Basics of Disability Insurance and How It Can Help During COVID

With the risks still posed by COVID-19, we all need to face the possibility that we could get sick, even ...

Should You (or Your Parents) Be in the Stock Market Now?

If you or your parents have a retirement account, (or any investment accounts for that matter) now is the...

How To Get Access to Your COVID Stimulus Money

It’s the beginning of the month, and bills are coming due. If you are stressed out, it’s important that y...

The Most Important Legal and Financial Actions To Take Right Now

As you already know, the COVID-19 pandemic means nothing is business as usual. Many states have implement...

What Happens to Your Pets When You Die?

If you have pets, my guess is that you love them as much as you do your children, but I’m also guessing t...

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...

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 ...

The Tax Cut & Jobs Act Drastically Alters the Tax Consequences of Divorce

The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA) made sweeping changes to exemptions, deductions, and credits for your ...

4 Tips For Discussing Estate Planning With Your Family This Holiday Season

As we head into the peak of the holiday season, you’re likely spending more time than usual surrounded by...

4 Year-End Tax-Saving Strategies for 2019

As we head towards the end of the year, we’re fast approaching the deadline to implement your family’s ta...

Understanding Your Life Insurance Settlement Options

Following the death of the policy holder, the way in which proceeds from a life insurance policy are paid...

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...

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...

Seniors and Their Families Should Be Wary of Reverse Mortgages—Part 2

In the first part of this series, we discussed the dangers of reverse mortgages for senior homeowners. He...

Seniors and Their Families Should Be Wary of Reverse Mortgages

If you’ve watched TV lately, you’ve likely seen ads touting the benefits of reverse mortgages. The spots ...

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...

6 Questions to Consider When Selecting Beneficiaries for a Life Insurance Policy

Selecting a beneficiary for your life insurance policy sounds pretty straightforward. You’re just decidin...

Why You Might Actually Owe Taxes in 2018

Like many taxpayers, if you’ve already filed your federal income taxes for 2018, you may be surprised to ...

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...

Overlooking This Basic Part of Your Estate Plan Can Be Tragic

The recent death of the CEO of QuadrigaCX, a major cryptocurrency exchange in Canada, demonstrates a basi...

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...

3 Deadly Sins of Retirement Planning

Retirement planning is one of life’s most important financial goals. Indeed, funding retirement is one of...

Avoid This Major Mistake When Adding an IRA to Your Estate Plan

Some people assume that because they’ve named a specific heir as the beneficiary of their IRA in their wi...

Trustees Should Carefully Consider the Role's Duties and Obligations—Part 1

If a friend or family member has asked you to serve as trustee for their trust upon their death, you shou...

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...

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...

How Will the New Tax Law Affect Your Family?

President Trump signed the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act bill into law on December 22, 2017, and the law incl...

Retirement Planning: Suze Orman's Age Advice | PFL

If you’re middle aged or older, it’s likely that one of your most pressing concerns is not having enough ...

4 Cryptocurrency Risks and Scams and How to Navigate Them — Part 2

Last week, we shared the first part of our series on cryptocurrency risks and scams, and if you haven’t r...

4 Cryptocurrency Risks and Scams and How to Navigate Them — Part 1

It’s no secret that Bitcoin and other brands of cryptocurrency are one of the hottest new investment oppo...

New Bill is Potential Game Changer for Your Family’s Tax Strategy

UPDATE: The new tax bill has been signed into law, so for information on the bill's final provisions and ...

Pay For a Loved One’s Education With an Education Trust Fund | PFL®

Today’s parents are all too familiar with the budget-busting cost of funding a child’s college education....

Tax Benefits of Buying a Second Home

Buying a second home can provide you with a place to relax, unwind, and escape from it all. It can also p...

Weathering the Storm: How Families Can Plan for Natural Disasters

Planning for natural disasters is more than just stocking up on canned food and water. In a natural disas...

The Ten Richest Families in America and Their Rise to Riches

Self-made millionaires are not uncommon in the dotcom era, but their fortunes pale in comparison to those...

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...

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...

Financial + Legal Planning for Unmarried Couples: Should You Legally Marry or Not?

While the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage in the U.S. making it po...

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 ...

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...

Think Your Salary Can Bring You Safely to Retirement? Think Again.

In the sea of financial planning wisdom, there are too few messages about the importance of mindset. Gone...

Divorcing? Here's What You Should Know About How it May Affect Your Trust

Trusts vary in their structure, funding, and terms, so it’s hard to know how divorce will impact your tru...

Why You Should Never Buy Your Will From Living Social or Groupon

Of the handful of major life events that require your serious consideration, few are as emotionally charg...

The Unexpected Costs of Caring for Elderly Parents In Your Home

Multi-generational households are becoming the new (or maybe it’s really old) in vogue way to handle the ...

Growing Family? Time to Audit Your Insurance Policies

As your family size grows, there is lots to prepare for and consider. Welcoming a new family member can b...

How Can I Plan for a Strategic Retirement?

Are you approaching retirement? Not sure how you can ensure a smooth transition from working life to reti...

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...

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 ...

Think Your 401(k) Is Flexible? 6 IRA Benefits Your 401(k) Doesn’t Have

When it comes to retirement plans, IRAs and 401(k)s provide many of the same benefits. But in certain sit...

Estate Taxes in Trump’s America

Donald Trump has proposed a radical tax reform agenda for his presidency. Part of this reform is his inte...

How to Make Your First Million by Age 40

Being in your 20s or 30s doesn’t mean financial success is decades away. In fact, earning big money is of...

Does Your Parent Need Help With Finances? Start Here

Caring for an aging parent is a common challenge for Baby Boomers, and now even Gen-X’ers and Millennials...

Power of Attorney - What is it and Is it Enough?

Power of attorney (POA) is a document that grants a specific person, called an agent, the authority to ma...

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...

Alert: If This Language Is In Your Trust, Your Spouse Could Be Screwed Over When You Die … Check Your Plan Today!

If you created an estate plan that includes a living trust, you must review it to determine if it contain...

Estate Planning After Marriage Equality: What All Couples Should Know

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex couples nationwide f...

Tax Lessons From The Clintons: How To Maximize Your Savings | PFL®

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...

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...

Find A Trusted Personal Family Lawyer® Firm Near You

Not sure where to start? Browse our directory.

Get Your Copy of Wear Clean Underwear to plan for your family’s future.

You've planned your kids’ birthday parties, playdates, and education. But have you adequately planned for the care of your family if the unthinkable happened? What provisions are needed in the first 24 hours while the officials locate your family members and arrange for your children's care?

In an easy-to-read "choose your own adventure" story format, Wear Clean Underwear guides you to know the exact right legal steps for yourself and the people you love.

Watch the free training now