The Plain English Attorney Blog

Far too many attorneys overcomplicate things, making topics convoluted and difficult to understand to the average person. This blog is committed to explaining legal planning topics in an easy to understand format, in plain English. Enjoy the blogs, and please let us know if there is a topic you would like covered.

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Cornhole Tournament to Benefit Special Olympics #specialneeds charity community Aug 07, 2023

There are many ways to both benefit charities and save on taxes through good estate and financial planning for after you pass on. There are also a lot of tax techniques to benefit you and charities during your lifetime that can save tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, there are...

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Three Asset Protection Perspectives asset management trusts asset protection asset protection trust estate planning strategies inlawplanning ira trusts Jul 31, 2023

Since I founded my law practice, I have consistently wanted to work with clients who preferred to plan ahead to avoid problems rather than clean them up after. This naturally led me to estate planning since using the right type of strategy and documents to avoid probate would have saved my...

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The Divorce Firewall Strategy Book Launch Next Week divorce premarital agreement prenup Jul 24, 2023

On Monday, July 31, 2023, the new book called The Divorce Firewall Strategy will be out and available to the public. As a planning attorney, I have devoted decades to helping client plan ahead through the effective use of trusts and other legal tools to give them and their loved ones the best...

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The Ideal Divorce Firewall Strategy divorce premarital agreement prenup Jul 17, 2023

For all of my clients and content consumers, thank you for your patience. In the last few months, a lot of time has been divided among the usual law firm work, creating content, the Advanced Institute estate planning conference next week, AND finishing the upcoming book The Divorce Firewall...

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Free Estate Planning Education System estate planning trust planning Jul 10, 2023

Providing information on planning ahead to avoid estate problems has been a hallmark of the law firm since it was founded more than 27 years ago. While many other firms simply responded to estate messes while "towing the company line" about estate planning with Wills, we were...

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Planning for a Spouse Within a "Prenup" Marriage premarital agreement prenup Jul 03, 2023

While I usually like to provide variety in blog topics, I have been on a deadline to put together the new book in time for a launch at a national conference.  There just isn't time right now to divert attention away from the topic of protective planning against the financial downsides of a...

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“Divorce Firewall” Strategy cohabitation agreement estate documents premarital agreement prenup Jun 26, 2023

Over the last few months, I have mentioned an upcoming book in a few places. As with my other books, this one will be about planning ahead to avoid problems before they ever come up. In this case, the book will show a much more effective way to avoid the downsides of divorce than a...

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"Prenups Don't Work!" dosanddonts premarital agreement prenup Jun 20, 2023

In researching the next book, there is no shortage of popular videos and comments decrying that premarital agreements don't work. There's typically a lot of comment screaming, sometimes in all caps, by a person who lost big in their own divorce. The fact is that prenups do work when done...

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Does the Joint Property Duct Tape Solution Work? estate planning basics probate Jun 12, 2023

Can probate be avoided with the use of assets and account titled as joint tenancy with a right of survivorship? Yes, but when it comes to estate planning, it's not planning ahead the right way like with a revocable living trust.

Titling assets as joint with a right of survivorship is what I...

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Just the FAQs, Ma'am (Vol. 2) #estateplanningbasics #wills irrevocable trust Jun 05, 2023

As part of getting back to basics for people searching to basic estate planning answers, I’m continuing to cover some basic questions that come from Henry W. Abts III’s book The Living Trust in its Appendix G. While the questions are coming from the book, the answers are coming from...

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Just the FAQs, Ma'am (Vol. 1) #estateplanningbasics irrevocable trust wills May 29, 2023

As part of getting back to basics for people searching to basic estate planning answers, I’m going to cover some basic questions that come from Henry W. Abts III’s book The Living Trust in its Appendix G. While the questions are coming from the book, the answers are coming from my own...

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What the Probate Attorneys Don’t Want You to Know basic estate planning last will and testament lawyer advice probate problems May 22, 2023

I'm seeing more attorneys these days at least reference a revocable living trust when speaking with their clients if they are asked about estate planning options. However, it is still the norm if clients call up a law office and ask to get a Will done that attorneys will just go through the...

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