When Should I Review and Amend My Documents?
Fall Greetings! I hope you all are faring well during these difficult times. There are a number of questions that people ask me often. This year, I am often asked if I am still open for business. Yes, I have worked full time throughout the year. Since March, I have been working mostly from home and meeting clients only by phone and on-line. Early into the pandemic, I converted all of my systems to be able to work remotely. So if you’ve been hesitating to contact me, please know that I am fully available. The other question that I often receive is this: when is it time to review and amend...
Read MoreWho owns what? Trusts, joint tenancy and more…
I know many of you have recently refinanced your houses, and this can affect your trust, albeit temporarily. Very often – but for no good reason – a lender will ask you to remove your house from your trust before you refinance, placing title back in your name as an individual or married couple with a recorded deed. Some lenders will do this for you. Others will send you to an attorney to do this and I have recorded many such deeds in recent years. The trick is to make absolutely sure that when the refinancing process is complete, your house is retitled back in your names as trustees of...
Read MoreProtect Your Online Assets Too
We are living more and more of our lives on-line and I am increasingly asked by clients: what should we do about our on-line assets? This is a moving target. A number of companies have sprung up, offering — for a hefty fee — to hold onto your passwords until your heirs eventually call to retrieve them. I can’t recommend any of these firms and I’m not sure it’s at all necessary to pay someone to hold onto on-line information. James died about a year ago after a lengthy illness. He was a software designer and he did all of his banking and paid most of his bills on-line. ...
Read MoreProtect your pets with careful estate planning.
I have a new dog named Maggie. I grew up with beagles, then as an adult had a series of cats, and then had no pets at all for the years when I was a renter. Maggie is a two year-old rescue dog, a Maltese mix, weighing in at a little over ten pounds. I’m thrilled to have her in my life. As you might guess, part of my responsibility as a dog owner is to provide for her in my estate planning documents. With luck, I will outlive her, but what if I don’t? What if I am ever unable to take care of her? These questions ran through my mind as soon as I adopted her. My Power of Attorney, like those I...
Read MoreKeep Your Beneficiary Information Updated
If you’re one of my clients, you’ve heard me urge you to check the beneficiary designations on your various retirement accounts and life insurance policies. The end of this year and beginning of a new year is a good time to make a routine check to see that you have chosen people and charities you still favor. Contact the institutions that hold your accounts, ask them who is on record as your current beneficiaries and, if you want to make a change, request a change-of-beneficiary form. And then don’t neglect to fill it out, submit it to the bank or brokerage company, and request that they...
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