Probate avoidance is a common estate planning goal, and one that you may wish to include in your estate plan. Of course, before you can decide whether or not avoiding probate should be one of your estate planning goals you need to have a thorough understanding of the probate process as well as why it is that people make such an effort to avoid it. For most estates, it is not possible to … read more
Dean Smith’s Estate Didn’t Forget His Players
When former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith passed away in February at the age of 83, he left behind a legacy as one of the most successful, respected, and beloved coaches of all time. During his tenure of 36 seasons at North Carolina, he led his teams too compiling a record of 879 wins and 254 losses. He was also known as one of the first college coaches of any sport in the … read more
Inheritance Planning for People with Children, Grandchildren, or No Children
You have worked hard all your life, saved faithfully, and invested wisely. As a result, you have managed to accumulate a moderate to large estate that you hope will see you through your Golden Years as well as provide for loved ones after you are gone. Protecting that estate requires careful inheritance planning. The details of your inheritance planning strategies will depend, to a large … read more
Basic Estate Planning Questions – How Does Divorce Affect my Estate Plan?
In today's discussion of basic estate planning questions in North Carolina, we are going to take a look at divorce and how it might affect your estate plan. Any significant life event, including a marriage or subsequent divorce, should prompt you to, at the very minimum, review your estate plan to determine if there are any changes you need to make. Because marriage comes with a host … read more
Basic Questions About Estate Planning – What is LGBT Estate Planning?
For LGBT individuals and families in the Greensboro, North Carolina area, estate planning is as essential as it is for anyone else. If you are an LGBT individual of adult age, you need an estate plan in place so you can protect yourself, and your loved ones, regardless of what the future holds. Whether you are married, single, have children, are childless, or anything else, every LGBT … read more
Estate Planning When you Own Foreign Property
For most people who create estate plans in the Greensboro, North Carolina area, foreign property issues are not a significant concern. Most people do not own property located in other countries, but for those who do, foreign property issues can be significant. What do you have to do if you own property that is located in another country? What additional steps will you have to … read more
Creating an Estate Plan in 2016 – Medical Directives
If you think that creating an estate plan in 2016 is something you want to do, you'll need to know about medical directives. Also known as advance directive, health care directives, and by similar names, medical directives are estate planning tools that allow you to exert control over your health care options prior to you becoming incapacitated or otherwise unable to make or communicate … read more
What Your Greensboro, North Carolina Elder Law Attorney Can, and Cannot, do For You
A lot of people who first contact a North Carolina elder law attorney have never heard of elder law, and do not really know what an elder law attorney does. If you have thought about contacting a lawyer because of a legal issue you are facing but are not sure if you should talk to an elder law attorney, all you have to do is call us and ask. Until then, here is some important information … read more
Do I Need to Worry about Estate Taxes?
Like most people, you have probably heard of federal gift and estate taxes and know that you don’t want your estate to incur the tax; however, do you really need to worry about estate taxes? The answer is not a simple one except to say that most people should be concerned about the possibility that their estate will incur federal gift and estate taxes. With proper estate planning that … read more
Creating a Trust — The Top Five Things You Need to Know
A well thought out and complete estate plan will do far more than simply create a road map for the distribution of your estate assets when you die. Exactly what additional components you include in your plan will depend on what you strive to accomplish with your estate plan. Regardless of what your estate planning goals are, you will undoubtedly need to utilize additional tools and … read more
