Author name: Emily Mansoor

Myth 1: My spouse and I had our estate plan prepared 20 years ago. It is done and off our to-do list until one of us passes away. Fact: Estate planning is not a one-and-done event. By not updating your estate plan to account for changes in your circumstances or those of your beneficiaries over the past […]

You intend to pass along your hard-earned money and property through your estate plan, but what about your wisdom? Ensuring that you successfully pass all of this along may call for a family meeting to discuss your finances, your legacy, and your core principles. Most families lead busy lives, with many relatives seeing one another

Trusts are widely used in estate planning to protect and transfer a person’s assets (money, accounts, property, etc.), sometimes in a tax-advantaged manner. Some trusts are highly complex, with multiple parties, intricate structures, specialized legal terms, and references to arcane tax law that can be difficult for the average person to understand. Scammers have long

Fighting over provisions in your will or trust can derail your final wishes, rapidly deplete your financial legacy, and tear your loved ones apart. However, with proper planning, you can help your family avoid a potentially disastrous fight.   If you are concerned about challenges to your estate plan, consider the following: Following these four

Social media is about putting yourself out there to connect with people, sometimes all over the world. If you are a social media influencer, not only are you being social, you are also gaining a following that may be bringing in cash. If you are using social media to earn income, here are five questions

A number of married couples think about their accounts and property as “yours, mine, and ours,” especially if either or both spouses have gotten or will be getting remarried, married late in life, or have brought or will be bringing significant amounts of money and property into the marriage. Deciding what should happen to all

If you recently married or have been married for a while and have acquired additional money or property (or plan to), you have options regarding how your assets can be owned. Although joint ownership seems easy and convenient, it may not always work as well as you think it should, depending on the circumstances. What

The death of a loved one is never easy. Regardless of your relationship with the deceased (for example, a relative, significant other, or close friend), you need space and time to process and grieve your loss. Once you have had time to cope with all that has happened, you should consider updating your estate plan

Getting ready to embark on your next great adventure? Before you zip up the last suitcase, here are five issues you need to address to protect yourself and your loved ones. Do you have a foundational estate plan? Has it been reviewed? An estate plan is a set of instructions memorialized in legal documents that

When you establish a trust, you nominate someone to be the trustee. If you are creating a revocable living trust, you will likely be the initial trustee. You will also want to name successors or backup trustees to step in and manage the trust’s affairs if you can no longer manage the trust yourself. The