Pennsylvania Estate Planning Blog And Probate Law Blog
Filing a final tax return is part of being an executor
When you serve as an executor, it is your job to resolve the legal and financial issues of the deceased person. You must settle their debts and distribute their property to their family members. You may need to pay bills on their behalf, close bank accounts and...
Two seemingly conflicting reasons to plan for Medicaid as you age
People often don't stop to think about whether they could qualify for Medicaid or not until they realize that they will soon need benefits. For older adults, who make up one of the primary populations served by Medicaid, a lifetime of savings might make it harder to...
An asset protection trust helps you protect your estate
You’ve probably heard of most of the major kinds of trusts, like revocable or irrevocable trusts. One that is a little less common is the asset protection trust. This trust is particularly helpful because it’s designed to guard your assets against claims from...
Young people need estate plans, too
Many people are under the impression that estate planning isn’t important until later in life. While it’s your hope that your estate plan never comes into play when you’re young, there’s no way to predict the future. As a younger individual, such as if you’re in your...
Should you consider establishing a QTIP trust?
As more and more people move on to second and subsequent marriages — often with children from previous marriages — qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trusts have become increasingly popular. They allow people to leave assets to their surviving spouse while...
Is a will enough when you’re making your estate plans?
When you write a will, your general goal is to list what you own -- cash, investments, homes, cars, art collections, etc -- and leave those assets to specific people. Some people use a will to give certain assets to specific heirs, such as leaving a painting that a...
Picking the right guardian for your child
If you’re a young parent, part of making your estate plan is picking a guardian for your child. If you pass away, this is the person who will take over raising that child. You want to know that your child is in good hands, so picking someone in advance reduces...
How to choose an executor for your will
When creating a will, you’re staffed with the responsibility of naming an executor. It’s easy to name the first person who comes to mind and then move on, but that won’t give you the peace of mind you deserve. You should think long and hard about who’s best for the...
Your estate plan needs to be unique
Your life is unique. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to estate planning that is going to encompass all of that perfectly. Your estate plan needs to be equally unique This is why it’s often not a good idea to use a DIY will or copy what a friend did. They don’t...
As a single parent, do you need an estate plan?
You have no spouse, and the only relative you have now is your adult child. As a single parent, you’ve always wondered if you needed an estate plan, because your child would be the only potential beneficiary or heir to your estate. It makes sense that you wouldn’t...
