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Welcome to the Estate Planning law video resources center where you can find articles about estate planning law, watch estate planning lawyer videos relating to your topic of interest, find probate lawyers by location and view estate planning attorney videos. Here, you can also find articles and links to government resources covering different areas of probate Law practice.
Estate planning is the planning process, in anticipation of death, for the orderly distribution of an individual s property to his or her designated beneficiaries. Comprehensive estate planning goes beyond mere preparation of a will, and can also involve financial, medical, business, and tax planning. Estate law governs wills, probate and other matters relevant to property distribution upon death. In this context, an estate is all property of an individual prior to distribution through a trust, will or intestacy. Property includes both real and personal property. Real property refers to land and other structures permanently attached to land, such as buildings and fixtures. All other property is considered personal property, such as bank accounts, stock holdings, life insurance policies, furniture, and vehicles. Estate laws vary by jurisdiction.
A life estate is a freehold estate in which the duration of ownership over the real property is limited or is measured by the life of a “life tenant
A will is an instrument that a person draws up, generally with the assistance of an attorney, outlining his or her wishes for the dispensation of asse
Currently there is a trend for elders to establish living trusts in order to avoid the time-consuming process and cost of probate court. However, when families are not altogether in harmony, a living trust can cause significant problems because the named executor or executors have full control of decisions regarding these estates.
The "living trust," created not by a testamentary instrument but by a deed of gift during the donor's life, is an increasingly popular method of effecting permanent disposition of the bulk o...
Laws regulating intestacy are intended to reflect what might have happened had the deceased person left a will. In effect, these laws are supposed to represent the norms of succession which actually are operative in the society at any particular time. By the laws of intestacy, the rights of the deceased are divided among legatees, those whom the laws of intestacy favor when a person dies without a will.
Having written a valid will, you are "testate." To die without a will is to die "intestate," in which case ...
The main goals of estate planning are to ensure that the person's wishes are carried out, to minimize problems for the survivors, and to reduce estate taxes. The legal documents used to accomplish these goals include a durable power of attorney, a will, and, for some patients, a trust. Estate planning usually requires the services of an experienced attorney. A durable power of attorney is a financial document that allows a named person, the attorney-in-fact, to handle the patient's assets in certain specified ways. This document is called du...
Asset protection is the process of shielding possessions that are otherwise vulnerable to erosion or complete loss. Such valuables include liquid funds in bank accounts, real estate, business equipment, personal property, etc. Circumstances may easily evolve at any time that could jeopardize your assets. Lawsuits and debt are perhaps the most common scenarios whereby you are subjected to significant losses. Consequently, it is advantageous to develop an effective as...
Estate Planning is the management of someone’s assets or belongings, while the person is still living. Estate Planning also provides for an organized distribution of assets after the death of a person. Estate planning provides for the management and administration of the distribution of property and personal assets. There are three levels of estate planning: A will, a living trust and intestate succession. A will provides direction and is a statement of comman...
A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that gives a person other than oneself ( the principal) the ability to act as an “attorney-in-fact” or agent, even though the person given the power does not have to be a lawyer. A power of attorney can be limited to a single act, such as the purchase of a single piece of property or quite broad, giving an individual acting under a power of attorney to make all decisions, including making gifts of your proper...
A Power of Attorney form is a document allowing you to designate a person or an organization to make decisions for you in the event you are unable to accomplish this on your own. The” attorney-in-fact “or “agent” is the representative you designated to perform these duties.
The power of attorney form must have a signature by the person requesting it. You also have to be mentally competent, fully aware during the time of sig...
Estate planning is an important process that many individuals fail to think about until it’s too late if they think about it at all. Estate planning involves those people that are most important to you like your family and business partners as well as causes that are near and dear to you such as charitable organizations that you support. Figuring out how to manage the estate planning process can be confusing and complex. Since estate planning involves your ass...
