Stepchildren and Estate Planning
Providing for Children and Stepchildren When spouses get married for a second time and either of them has a child, it is important for the spouses to discuss and make ...
Subsequent Marriages and Estate Planning
Remarriage Calls for a New Estate Plan Whether following divorce or the death of spouse, a remarriage impacts your estate plan. Children may understandably be wary of anyone who might ...
Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples
Estate Laws do not Protect Unmarried Couples Unmarried couples do not benefit from laws which protect spouses in the event of a spouse’s death. Estate laws vary by state, but ...
The Impact of Divorce on your Last Will and Testament (Part Two)
Beneficiary Designations While the law effectively takes your spouse out of your will upon your divorce, you have other assets which pass through beneficiary designations rather than through a Last ...
The Impact of Divorce on your Last Will and Testament
Divorce in Estate Planning Many states require that a spouse receive some part of property held during the marriage upon the death of the other spouse. A spouse’s share of ...
Preserving Estate Assets
Preserving an Inheritance Although most of us plan to leave our loved ones with assets from our estate, sometimes expenses at the end of a person’s life deplete the estate ...
What Happens to the Mortgage in an Estate?
Estate Making Mortgage Payments While most creditors must file a claim in court in order to get payment from an estate if the estate refuses to pay, a mortgage company ...
Creditors Must be Paid from the Estate
Satisfying Creditors Bills from credit cards, utility companies, and mortgage companies will continue to be sent until the creditors are informed of the debtor’s death. Once creditors are informed of ...
Veterans’ Benefits in Estate Planning
Burial Expenses for Service Related Death The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs pays up to $2,000.00 for burial expenses for service-related deaths on or after September 11, 2001. Some or ...
Veterans’ National Cemeteries in New York Every veteran and his/her spouse may be buried in a National Cemetery and may be entitled to a free cemetery plot, headstone, and perpetual ...