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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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?...
When it comes to planning for estate planning for a beneficiary with special needs, there are a lot of myths, half-truths, and misinformation out there. And unfortunately, some of these things just get out there because it worked in one particular circumstance and suddenly everybody's thinking...
Who's on the team? Or more specifically who's on your team? When it comes to your legal and financial picture in the long run, and who is working with you and your family, it takes more than one professional to know, understand, and monitor everything. This is why a new business model is emerging...
Today we're going to talk about a hot topic, and I keep getting questions about this: “Hey, can't we just remotely sign our estate planning documents?”
The simple answer is “no.” In addition to it not being even legal at this time (at least in the State of North Carolina),...
When it comes to estate planning, there’s always more information coming our way. It’s also not just about tax updates or changes to law, but it can often be just better ways to serve our clients through technological advancements and new platforms. While state bar sponsored...
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...
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...
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...
Sometimes, messages need to be repeated to make sure they stick. Unfortunately, this often happens with ongoing maintenance with a revocable living trust to make sure that assets line up correctly with the overall estate plan, including the revocable living trust. Unfortunately, the "correctly"...
A revocable living trust can be a great estate planning vehicle that keeps your assets out of probate and minimizes settlement costs. However, there are (at least) seven big mistakes that I has seen when it comes to putting together a revocable trust. While other attorneys may have different...
