A new law in Florida seeks to make it more likely that life insurance companies will learn of policyholder's deaths and consequently make required payments to beneficiaries. Life insurance is a key component of many estate plans. Because life insurance payments are supposed to be made immediately they can provide necessary funds to descendents and [...]
When creating their estate plans many people also plan ahead for their funerals. It is a good time to do it as once funeral costs are known, making the money available for the funeral can become a part of the estate plan. A survey shows, however, that getting that pricing information is not always easy. [...]
Thinking about what you want to include in a living will is difficult, but necessary. For most people thinking about the end of their own lives is psychologically difficult. This has stopped many from getting living wills and other advanced directives, such as powers of attorney. People do not like to think about the possibility [...]
When buying a home and getting a mortgage it is a good idea to think about what might happen if you pass away before the mortgage is completely paid. Doing so can spare headaches for your heirs. As the Wall Street Journal points out in "What Happens When a Homeowner Dies Before the Mortgage Is [...]
New details have emerged that have increased the controversy surrounding the decision to seal the will of author Harper Lee. The last couple of years of Harper Lee's life were full of controversy for many of the author's fans. The novelist had stated many times over the years that she did not want to release [...]
The Social Security Administration issued an emergency message to its personnel that will make it slightly easier to determine why the agency has rejected a special needs trust. In the past when the Social Security Administration determined that a proposed special needs trust for a Supplemental Security Income recipient was rejected no explanation was given [...]
If you inherit a house, before deciding what to do with it you need to know your options and any legal requirements. People who inherit a house often wonder what they can and should do with it. These are not always easy questions to answer especially for heirs who already have homes of their own. [...]
For as much attention as the federal estate tax receives many people still have misconceptions about how it works. The estate tax is a common source of complaints both by and to politicians. In all of the discussion about the tax what often gets lost is how the tax actually operates. This leads many people [...]
One aspect of the seemingly neverending Michael Jackson estate saga is moving toward a conclusion after a long delay. For years Michael Jackson's former manager Thome Thome has been trying to get money out of the singer's estate that he says he is due on commissions from the proceeds from the sale of the musician's [...]
A Minnesota man with a love for cars left an unusual bequest to his church. Churches are used to receiving gifts from their parishioners as part of those parishioners' estates. Most such gifts come in the form of cash bequests or securities. Sometimes, people will leave their homes to the church so that the church [...]