Uncategorized

Well, that doesn’t seem right. It usually starts with something small. A strange email from a bank you do not recognize. A new credit card account you do not remember opening. A password reset link you never requested. A notice from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that someone has already filed a tax return in your name. At first there is confusion. No, there’s no way that’s right. Then anxiety sets in. Am I being scammed? After that, you may spend hours or days on the phone with banks, credit bureaus, and government agencies to reach an unsettling conclusion: Someone has my information and is […]

Today, so much of what once existed in material form now lives entirely online. Our photos, finances, business operations, and even our identities are stored on devices and platforms and in cloud accounts. Without proper planning, these valuable digital assets can easily be lost or become inaccessible after we die. As a sign of the times and how deeply virtual and physical life have merged, most of us

In 2013, British IT worker James Howells accidentally threw away a hard drive while cleaning his house. Only later did he realize that it held the private key to 8,000 Bitcoin that are now worth hundreds of millions of dollars.1 For more than a decade, he has tried unsuccessfully to persuade local officials to let him dig up the landfill where he believes the drive lies buried, even offering to buy the landfill, to no avail. His desperation illustrates not just the meteoric rise of Bitcoin

Receiving an inheritance can be a meaningful and transformative experience, but it can also create challenges if not handled thoughtfully. Without a clear plan, an inheritor may struggle to manage newly acquired assets, face creditor or tax issues, or lack the financial experience needed to preserve and grow what was left to them. A well-designed

If you are expecting an inheritance, an estate planning tool known as a trust may prove useful, depending on your circumstances. Among the numerous types of trusts aimed at fulfilling different estate planning purposes, an inheritor’s trust is specially designed to help protect an inheritance. Purpose of an Inheritor’s Trust A future beneficiary establishes an inheritor’s trust

Parents generally try to treat all their children fairly. We often assume that fairness means leaving an equal inheritance to each child. However, “fair” does not always mean “equal.” A thoughtful estate plan considers each child’s unique circumstances to create distributions that truly support their needs. Here are some situations where unequal but fair distributions

Hey everyone, it’s Riley, and welcome back to the blog! I can’t believe it is already Christmas season aka the best season. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully explain how loved and blessed I feel during the holidays. There’s a warmth that comes with being home at Christmas. It’s a feeling I

Estate planning is about protecting you and your loved ones. Sometimes this can be a difficult endeavor when there is a loved one who may require additional support at your death. While you may want to give as much as possible to this individual, you may not want to do so at the expense of

As an estate planning attorney in Nevada, I have one recurring holiday fear: not sugar-fueled elves… but unknown heirs. Case in point: Buddy the Elf. You think you’ve got a nice, clean estate plan. One child. One spouse. Everything neatly wrapped with a bow. Then suddenly—bam—a full-grown man in tights bursts out of the North

I’m a proud Northern Nevada native—born at elevation, raised on Basque food, and hardwired to howl for the Nevada Wolf Pack. And yes, I said Nevada, not “UNR.” We were the first university in the entire state, thank you very much. That’s why up here, it’s simply Nevada. No descriptors needed. No clarifications offered. No