The federal government has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to seize two life insurance policies taken out by the San Bernardino shooter. There are still unanswered questions following the December terrorist incident in San Bernardino, Ca. Authorities still are uncertain whether Syed Rizwan Farook had assistance from foreign terror groups or if he planned [...]
For many reasons it is often not a good idea to give an heir an outright inheritance. Instead, using a lifetime discretionary trust could be a better option. Sometimes, leaving someone an inheritance without any guidance or restrictions is not always a good idea. For example, if the person can be expected to quickly waste [...]
The ongoing battles over the competency of Sumner Redstone are bringing attention to an estate planning problem that is becoming increasingly common in the U.S. Sumner Redstone has recently had to defend himself against a charge of incompetency brought by an ex-girlfriend. He won. The newsprint on that story was barely dry before Redstone's competency [...]
A new California law that allows for physician-assisted suicide is broadly supported by the general public in the state. Doctors, however, are far more skeptical about it. For a long time many elder law advocates and patients' rights advocates have argued that terminally ill people should have the option to get a prescription from their [...]
For the third time a disgraced Catholic order, the Legion of Christ, has been sued over the will of a Rhode Island woman who passed away in 2008. Rhode Island resident Gabrielle Mee was very wealthy and a very devout Catholic. It is clear that she wanted to leave at least part of her estate [...]
A recent surge in the number of Americans creating wills can be attributed to the death of entertainer Prince. However, it appears that many people might be looking in the wrong place to get those wills. Rock star Prince passed away unexpectedly without a will. That has already caused many problems for his estate and [...]
One of the primary goals for many people when estate planning is to avoid having their families fight over their estates. It is not always easy, but some simple steps can help. Avoiding a family battle over an estate plan is an important goal, if you want your estate to go smoothly. Nothing creates more [...]
A satirical website should not be the first place you go to learn how to make a will. However, if you do happen to go to the Onion, you might find that their advice is not actually all that bad. The satirical magazine and website The Onion is best known to non-readers as a place [...]
Numerous services have recently sprung up that allow people to store their estate planning documents digitally. One of the latest services searches for news of its clients' deaths. Even the best estate plans are completely worthless if no one knows the estate planning documents exist or they cannot otherwise be found. A will cannot be [...]
One common provision in divorce settlement agreements should be looked over carefully by an estate planning attorney. In divorce property settlement agreements it is common for the spouse who will be responsible for paying child support to agree to also maintain life insurance. The insurance benefits are meant to provide for the child support should [...]