Many people want to know does it make sense to put my house in a trust. Often, this question comes up with a vacation home, or a home that has been in the family for some years and the family wishes to keep the home in the family. A trust can give you better control than a will or a deed over how your assets are transferred from one generation to the other. And, a trust may offer other advantages such as asset Read More
How to Choose a Trustee For Your Family Trust
If you're in the process of setting up a trust or if you're reviewing a trust set up some years ago an important part of the process and worthy of careful consideration is who to choose to act as trustee of your trust. Typically you will be the first trustee but your chosen successor trustee will take over management of the trust when you are gone. This person will be making all the decisions once you're gone and Read More
10 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Financial Adviser
Most people don't know how to hire a financial adviser. Often we will get a referral from a friend or a professional such as a lawyer or account. Often these are good methods of finding a good investment adviser. But, if you are creating a family trust and want to hire a financial adviser to manage the money in the trust, you probably want a traditional personal financial adviser or financial consultant. You Read More
Qualify for Medicaid With a Miller Trust
Many seniors find themselves in need of Medicaid to pay for their long-term care but are surprised to learn that their modest monthly income may disqualify them. The reason for this is that Medicaid is a “means-tested” benefit. In other words, you must not have income exceeding certain thresholds in order to qualify and receive Medicaid benefits. For example, in New Jersey, the monthly income limit for nursing home Read More
Why Do I Need a Trust?
A simple will works for some people, but it's not for everyone. For those is in a second marriage, have minor children, or are concerned about fraud, a trust may serve you much better. There are some simple estate planning techniques that you can use to avoid probate and simplify things for your heirs when you die, for example: adding beneficiaries to your retirement accounts or adding transfer on death (TOD) Read More
Why Small Business Owners Need an Estate Plan
Running a small business can keep you busy, but it should not keep you from creating an estate plan. Not having a plan in place can cause problems for your business and your family after you are gone. While an estate plan is important for everyone, it is especially important for small business owners. Planning allows you to dictate what will happen with your business after you die or are no longer able to manage Read More
Understanding the Common Types of Trusts
A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person (or an institution, such as a bank or law firm), called a "trustee," holds legal title to property for another person, called a "beneficiary." Trusts fall into two basic categories: testamentary (created by your will at death) and inter vivos (during your lifetime). A testamentary trust is one created by your will, and it does not come into existence until you Read More
Estate Planning When You Have a Stepfamily
Ideally, when a second marriage joins two families together, should be a joyous occasion that creates one bigger family unit - the "blended family." Unfortunately, it too often also creates inheritance fights between stepparents and children. A good estate plan is necessary to help avoid these types of family squabbles. Complications can arise when two people who both have children from previous relationships marry. Read More
Redo Your Estate Plan When You Remarry
If you are getting remarried, you obviously want to celebrate, but it is also important to focus on less exciting matters like redoing your estate plan. You may have created an estate plan during your first marriage, but this time it will probably be more complicated--especially if you have children from your first marriage or more assets - what we call a "blended family." You must redo your estate plan when you Read More
If You Haven’t Been Regularly Reviewing Your Estate Plan, Start When You Hit 60
You Should Review Your Estate Plan When You Hit 60 as well as other key points in your lifetime. How frequently you should review your estate plan depends on how old you are and whether there has been a significant change in your circumstances. If you are over age 60 and you haven't updated your estate plan in many decades, it's almost certain that you need to update your documents. After that, you should review Read More
