Can You Use Out of State Protection Trusts?
Asset Protection Trusts There is an extremely effective asset protection trust where you can place your assets into a trust, be the beneficiary of that trust, and secure those assets from divorce, lawsuits, and creditors. Unfortunately, it is not available in most states, including North Carolina. Those states do not allow you to set up […]
DIY Estate Planning
No Logic Required I frequently review questions and answers on Reddit for Estate Planning. Many times, there are legitimate questions from people as well as good advice provided. However, I’m frequently reminded that there are a lot of people online who are seeking the answer they want to hear rather than the truth such as […]
My Spouse Isn’t My Beneficiary?
Life Insurance When it comes to estate planning, coordinating ownership title and beneficiary designations with your revocable living trust and the overall plan is essential if you actually want to avoid probate. In this video, Jeff explains the reasoning behind why your revocable living trust should be the primary beneficiary of life insurance… not your […]
A Divorce Shield? The Domestic Asset Protection Trust
Asset Protection Trust and Divorce Recently, I’ve seen a trend of people wanting to protect their assets from a potential divorce as part of their life planning before getting married. While premarital agreements have a place, there are some ways to get around some or all of the terms in an agreement, and people want […]
But The Will Says …
The Lasts Will & Testament When it comes to a Last Will and Testament, it only controls what ends up in probate. This review of a Reddit thread in r/estateplanning makes it clear that a Will does NOT control everything. In this post, Jeff is reacting to a post from Reddit R/Estate Planning. This is […]
Trust Funding is Critical
Trust Funding 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 […]
Asset Protection: Selling Inherited House Inside a Trust
There’s an awful lot of an advantage to having a lifetime of asset protection, but is it worth it? Should you keep the proceeds of an inherited house inside Mom’s trust? Does it provide asset protection from creditors, divorcing spouses, and disability/Medicaid spend downs? In this reaction and commentary on a Reddit question, Jeff reviews […]
My Parents Are Doing Estate Planning
What Do I Need to Know? The following was a post to Reddit on the r/estateplanning thread along with my response. The person posting was looking for information on what to expect in the estate planning meeting with their parents and attorney… but most of the traditional attorneys jumped into providing advice to the parents on […]
Seven Living Trust Mistakes
Revocable Living Trust 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 have seen when it comes to putting together a revocable living trust. While other attorneys may have different opinions on […]
Is Your Suitcase Packed?
Revocable Living Trust Is your suitcase packed? When it comes to estate planning with a revocable living trust, I often use the suitcase analogy. When it comes to avoiding probate, a revocable living trust is like a suitcase. It is designed to take your things from one place to another, and there are many different […]