Estate Planning
If you work in a school, have a student, or an adult student; I urge you to seriously consider getting your estate plan together. Since I’ve worked in the public school system as a teacher; I know they are some of the germiest places on earth. To keep healthy while I was teaching, I used at least a half a dozen different ways to “high five” students without ever touching them. Kids get germs from school. They’re going back to…
Don’t overlook this important piece of your estate planning. The letter of last instructions gives your personal representative, as well as your family, details they’ll need to settle financial matters, and resolve your final wishes. Although, it’s not legally binding, it’s an invaluable resource to your loved ones. It provides final wishes not covered in your will, as well as contact information, they’ll need to close accounts and settle your matters. What To Write Often, a letter of last instructions…
Prior to social distancing my firm’s procedure for drafting and finalizing a client’s estate plan went something like this. I met with clients a first time to gather information; then created a first draft of their documents; next I met with them again to review their documents; and lastly I met with them a third time to finalize their estate plans. If the stay-in-place order has forced you to address “what if” scenarios which were previously unthinkable. So, after you’ve…
Every remarried couple with a blended family needs to redo their estate planning documents. Besides updating your will, here are some things you should consider when reviewing your estate plan. Guardianship Plan In the event of your death, your children will go to their biological parent. If however, the biological parent is not capable of taking care of the children, now or in the future, it’s best to update your guardianship appointment documents. Additionally, if you believe it is not…
In Colorado, a home or real property can transfer from one owner to another by the use of a beneficiary deed. Upon the death of the grantor, the transfer of property passes outside of probate. As with creating a trust or joint tenancy, the use of a beneficiary deed is considered another probate avoidance strategy. Below of some things you should know about beneficiary deeds when considering one in your estate plan: It must be recorded before the death of…