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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Funding a Revocable Living Trust is critical to ensuring your estate avoids probate. Unfortunately in my line of work, I see too many trusts where nothing, or almost nothing, is actually funded in the trust. That is why I make sure at least every six months or so to post this chapter from my book Es...
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Not every inheritance is welcome or wanted, strange as it seems. There are tax issues, potential lawsuits looming, or even just a desire to see the inheritance go somewhere else. However, there are different ways people believe they can waive off an inheritance, and not all of them are equal nor ...
The internet can be a tremendous help with research. However, there are a lot of myths, misconceptions, and outright falsehoods out there, especially when it comes to estate planning. We donât have time to list them all, but here are the top five we have curated to help you get started.
1. Wills Do...
Youâre an adult, you have a lot going on, and youâre not going to die tomorrow. As far as you know. Putting together estate planning documents may be the last thing on your mind, but it shouldnât be if you care even a little bit about where your assets go when you pass on. Today, weâre going to cove...
One of the biggest frustrations I see in my line of work is when people who are already going through a crisis because of the death or a long-term illness of a family member end up in probate. This time-consuming, frustrating, and paperwork intensive process only compounds the grief and agony they a...
When it comes to estate planning, what you do with your estate is wide open. However, there are only two heavyweights when it comes to how you pass along your estate. You are either using a Last Will and Testament, or a revocable living trust as the base of your plan. But which one is best? Weâll go...
Today we're going to talk about a hot topic, and I keep getting questions about this: âHey, can't we just remotely sign our estate planning documents?â
The simple answer is âno.â In addition to it not being even legal at this time (at least in the State of North Carolina), it is also just a bad, ba...
It's unfortunate, but there are numerous estate planning practices that have become standard operating procedure at law firms that are not necessarily the best thing for the clients or their families. In fact, they seem designed specifically to make more money for the law firm than they are to take ...
As I was recently reminded while reviewing some legal documents for a prospective client, not all power of attorney forms are created equal. In fact, some people may mistakenly believe they are covered when that is far from the truth. Here are the five big things every good power of attorney should ...
'Twas the night before probate, and all through the house
Not an asset was spared, for there was no spouse
Nor were there children, or any appointed heirs
For the deceased had no plans, nor had he cared
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The forms were stacked high, with supporting documentation
Billable hours were spent, mos...
Ever since my grandfather passed on and my grandmother had to deal with a year and a half of uncertainty, convoluted procedures, and legal bills, I made it my mission to find ways for my clients to avoid the red tape of probate. But not only did I want to help my clients, but I also wanted to spread...
When it comes to estate planning, coordinating ownership title and beneficiary designations with your revocable living trust and the overall plan is essential if you actually want to avoid probate. In this video, Jeff explains the reasoning behind why your revocable living trust should be the primar...
