lang: en_US

What the National Debt Ceiling Extension Means for Your Family

May 4, 2024

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

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

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...

A Not-So-Happy Accident: Bob Ross’s Estate Planning Failures —Part 2

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...

Legendary Rapper DMX Dies With No Will, Millions in Debt, and 15 Children—Part 2

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

Legendary Rapper DMX Dies With No Will, Millions in Debt, and 15 Children—Part 1

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

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...

Suze Orman Says This Is the Age You Should Retire—Not a Month or Year Before (and Here's What She Misses)

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

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

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 These Common Assets Can Affect Your Financial Aid Eligibility

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...

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...

Conscious Money Challenge: Know How You Are Invested

If you have money invested in the stock market, whether through a retirement account or a straight broker...

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...

Writing Your Life Story: Why

How often do you wish you knew more about your family? When we’re young, we don’t necessarily pay attenti...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Family Financial Traditions

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

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...

Retirement Planning Reality Check

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

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...

How to Raise Responsible Kids - Part 4

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 2

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 Not Every Child Should be Equal When It Comes to Your Estate Plan

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 ...

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 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

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

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

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

How to Reduce the Cost of Long-Term Care Insurance

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...

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...

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...

How to Prepare Your Heirs to Receive, Protect and Grow Their Inheritance

When we think of vast family wealth, most of us know the name Cornelius Vanderbilt, the railroad and ship...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Subject: Receiving an Inheritance One Day? Here’s What to Do Now.

Baby boomers are set to inherit up to $8.4 trillion over the next 15 years, according to The Center for R...

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...

How to Pass Along Family Heirlooms Peacefully

A recent Wall Street Journal article noted that boomers and seniors are more interested in passing along ...

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...

10 Tips for Charitable Giving This Holiday Season

According to a recent Forbes article, Americans donated more than $316 billion to charity last year – and...

New Help for Financial Caregivers

If you are helping an elderly parent or relative manage their finances or have been given a power of atto...

How to Care for Children with Special Needs Through Estate Planning

For many people, the basics of estate planning are simple enough, but for those families with loved ones ...

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...

How to Get Your Boomerang Kid Off Your Couch & Ensure He Becomes an Adult You Are Proud to Say You Raised

A recent Economist article says a “perfect storm” of the poor economy of the past few years, resulting in...

Family Wealth Planning: The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do Now to Feel Better About Yourself As a Parent – and Leave the World a Better Place – No Matter How Much Money You Have in the Bank

If you are like most of the parents I know, you feel guilty. It’s what parents do. Whether your guilt is ...

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...

The 10 Keys to Planning and Living Your Best Retirement

Three-day weekends like the Labor Day just passed give us all the tiniest snippet of a glimpse into what ...

7 Steps for Effectively Managing an Inheritance

Research shows that a majority of baby boomers will receive an inheritance at some time during the lives,...

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...

The Talk You Need to Have With Your Parents

When you were a kid, your parents dreaded the talk they had to have with you. You know the one. Well, now...

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...

New Social Security Rules and Services for 2013

There have been a number of new rules and services implemented by the Social Security Administration for ...

5 Ways to Ease the Pain of the Payroll Tax Hike

While the fiscal cliff tax deal cut by Congress last month targeted primarily higher wage earners, every ...

How to Secure Your Personal Information Online

Most of us conduct a lot of our personal business online these days, so the necessity of being savvy when...

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...

5 Things We Should Learn From Our Parents About Retirement

When we talk about retirement, most of us are still thinking about our parents’ retirement and how they d...

Longevity Insurance Can Help Those Worried About Outliving Their Money

With longer life spans comes the necessity to be sure your money is around at least as long as you are. L...

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 Protect Elderly Parents From Financial Abuse

According to a recent study by the Investor Protection Trust and Investor Protection Institute, the top t...

When It Comes to Inheritance, Treating Children Equally Not Always the Best Plan

While most parents have the inclination to treat all their children equally when it comes to an inheritan...

Planning for Estate Taxes in 2013 and Beyond

What will happen to estate taxes in 2013? Right now, you may as well try to predict what the weather will...

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...

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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