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Awakened Planning: How to Talk About Estate Planning at Your Family Reunion

July is National Family Reunion Month and the perfect time to reconnect with family from near and far, sh...

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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.

Managing Excess Belongings: A Guide for the Downsizing Generation | PFL®

As the baby boomer generation ages—and downsizes—more and more adult children will be tasked with going t...

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...

How Legal Planning Helps Build a Strong Blended Family

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

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...

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...

Facing Grief After the Death of a Loved One Can Be the Key to a Life of Health and Wholeness

If you have ever met someone who repeatedly sabotaged their life or seemed to have a hard time moving thi...

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 ...

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...

What Happens to Your Body When You Die? The Choice Can Be Yours

Many of us are too afraid of death to carefully consider what happens to our bodies after we die. Unfortu...

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...

Generational Wisdom: 32 Questions To Learn From Your Loved Ones | PFL®

What can we learn from earlier generations? Quite a bit, says Brendon Burchard, but only if we ask the ri...

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 ...

Watch Out for This Predatory Phone Scam

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

Planning for the Care of Your Pet: How to Include Your Pet in Your Estate Plan

If your pet is beloved as a family member, you likely want to ensure that he or she will be well cared fo...

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...

Three Health Care Documents You Need to Include in Your Estate Plan

Decisions about your health care are some of the most important you will ever make. Don’t put off making ...

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...

How to Live Before You Die

In Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University, he said: “Remembering that I’ll be dead s...

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. ...

How to Discuss Estate Planning with Aging (or Sick) Loved Ones - Pt. 2

In our last newsletter, we shared the first part of our article on how to discuss estate planning with ag...

How to Discuss Estate Planning With Aging (or Sick) Loved Ones - Part 1

Someone you love is aging. Or maybe, facing a potentially terminal illness. And you know it’s time for th...

Can Facing Your Death Actually Increase Happiness During Life?

Bhutan is an independent state in Southeast Asia, bordered by China to the north and India to the south. ...

Life Changes that Require an Update to Your Estate Plan

Even if you do not have an estate plan that you’ve created, the State has one for you. And it’s likely on...

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 ...

End-of-Life Communication and Care: A Struggle Most Physicians Encounter

Just as it is difficult for many of us to talk about our ultimate death, it is also difficult for doctors...

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...

The Four Tricky Cons of 2016

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

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...

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...

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...

Work-Life Balance: A Personal Perspective

Pick up the latest copy of just about any business magazine, and you’re likely to find at least one artic...

Clean Burials: New Mushroom Suit Removes Body Toxins

If you have ever wondered about the impact your body will have on the environment when you are gone, you ...

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 ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Five Valuable Traits a Child Can Learn from Working Parents

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

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

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

Emergency iPhone Health App Can Save Your Life

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

What to Do With a Cash Windfall

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

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

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

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

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

Can I Benefit from a Reverse Mortgage?

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

Talking with Your Family About Your Estate Plan

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

Pets in Your Will

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

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...

The Best Gift You Can Leave to Your Loved Ones

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

Retirement Planning Reality Check

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

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...

How to Raise Responsible Kids - Part 4 | PFL®

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

How to Raise Responsible Kids - Part 3

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

How to Raise Responsible Kids - Part 2 | PFL®

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

How to Raise Responsible Kids

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

A Gift to Your Family and the Environment: Green Burial

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

Could an AMBER alert save your child?

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

How to Pass On Family Heirlooms Without Causing a Family Feud

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

How To Leave Your Home To Your Kids

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

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

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

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

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

What Is a Trust?

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

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

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

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...

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...

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 | PFL®

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

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...

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...

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...

10 Tips to Ensure Family Harmony Over Your Estate Plan

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

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

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

Joan Rivers Has Last Laugh Through Use of a Family Trust

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

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

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

Senior Drivers and Safe Driving

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 Reasons Why You Need to Review Your Estate Plan

Creating an estate plan to protect your financial future and that of your family is just the first step i...

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...

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...

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