Gifts, Advances, and Loans: Balancing an Estate Plan When the Kids Need Money NOW
Estate Planning distributions aren’t always clean and even. Sometimes the kids and grandkids need money during life, and providing it to them can raise questions. (This can also be true when using a Will, but now the probate court is involved.) But whether something is classified as a gift, an advance on an inheritance, or […]
Trust Funding is Critical
Sometimes, messages need to be repeated to make sure they stick. Unfortunately, this often happens with ongoing maintenance with a revocable living trust to make sure that assets line up correctly with the overall estate plan, including the revocable living trust. Unfortunately, the “correctly” part of the reminder came in the form of a deceased client who […]
Seven Living Trust Mistakes
A revocable living trust can be a great estate planning vehicle that keeps your assets out of probate and minimizes settlement costs. However, there are (at least) seven big mistakes that I has seen when it comes to putting together a revocable trust. While other attorneys may have different opinions on some of these items, […]
Planning for Divorce Before Marriage?
Over the last few months, several people have approached me about planning to protect them from a marriage that could go wrong. After watching videos and the course on In-Law Protection Planning, they asked about how they could guard against the negatives of a divorce from a possible marriage rather than how their parents could protect an inheritance for them. After all, shouldn’t […]
What is a Testamentary Trust?
A testamentary trust is basically language written into a Last Will and Testament that holds and manages estate assets for a beneficiary over a period of time beyond the probate estate being initially settled. Unfortunately, this has a lot of drawbacks depending on state law. A testamentary trust may mean that the beneficiary’s share has […]
Welcome Hazel to the Team!
The Law Offices of Jeffrey G. Marsocci, PLLC is pleased to welcome Hazel Ann D. Mejia to the team! After an exhaustive search and several failed attempts to find someone to work physically in the office, we came to the reluctant conclusion that we had to expand our search and be open to a remote employee. Hazel […]
What are the Medicaid Spend Down Priorities?
One of the most crippling situations for families is when a loved one needs long term care, they start to look at prices for nursing homes, and realize that it is just not possible to keep paying over the long haul without losing everything. Medicaid becomes a path to take to finance your loved ones care, […]
Short Form Estate Planning Cheat Sheets Released
At the beginning of the year, I and my office recommitted ourselves to providing good, accurate estate planning information to both our clients and the general public. As lives get busier and time grows shorter, people who are beginning to look into a subject often begin with small nuggets of compact information. In addition to […]
The Red Tape Estate: The Probate Process Explained
Ever since my grandfather passed on and my grandmother had to deal with a year and a half of uncertainty, convoluted procedures, and legal bills, I made it my mission to find ways for my clients to avoid the red tape of probate. But not only did I want to help my clients, but I […]
Charity Minefields in Estate Planning
Giving to charities through gifting and estate planning can provide may rewards, and not just a good feeling knowing you are helping others. There are plenty of tax breaks that can come along with being charitable. However, there are also several minefields that can unintentionally hurt you and your loved ones if the transition isn’t […]