Once upon a time, amassing a million dollars for retirement meant that your golden years would be very golden indeed. But what about now—is a million dollars still enough money to enjoy a luxurious retirement? The good news is that more than 20 million people in the...
For many families with a special needs child, a special needs trust is one of the most important components of the family’s overall estate plan. A properly designed and implemented special needs trust can provide a number of important benefits. Maximize quality of...
Second marriages can present unique challenges when it comes to estate planning, particularly if you or your new spouse have children from previous marriages. Let’s take a look at some of the factors, tools, and strategies to consider when planning for a second...
I have been thinking about the estate plan that you created. It includes a revocable living trust. Most of time revocable living trusts are created to avoid probate and plan for disability. We talked about your beneficiaries during your planning sessions and decided...
An “I Love You Will” is a last will and testament in which the testator—the person who makes the will—leaves everything to his or her spouse. If you have thought about making a will in the past, you likely considered this approach. Perhaps you have already created...
Perhaps you have considered selling your current home, buying a smaller one, and using the difference to help fund your retirement. A recent article on Investopedia.com explores this approach and details the mistakes you must avoid. Here are some of the highlights....
We are well into October. In Alaska, we know what that means: cleaning up the yard, putting the outside lights up, changing our tires to studs, making sure there is an ice scraper and emergency supplies in the car, and maybe planning a warm vacation to break up the...
Fewer than one-third of family businesses survive into the second generation, while only 13 percent make it to the third generation. Here are some tips to beat the odds and help your business live on for generations to come. The sooner you start the planning process...
There are many reasons you might consider giving your adult children a portion of their inheritance now, while you’re alive and well. Maybe you’ve seen your nest egg grow thanks to a robust stock market, and you have more in savings than you thought you would at this...
The statistics are rather alarming. In 2005, 50 percent of Americans had a will; today, only 32 percent of us have one. Meanwhile, only one in three Americans over the age of 55 has a durable power of attorney, and a mere 41 percent of this same demographic has...
Perhaps you have heard about trusts but wonder exactly what they are and what they can help you accomplish. Simply put, a trust is an agreement outlining how assets will be managed and held for the benefit of another person. There are many types of trusts, capable of...
Approximately 50% of elderly Americans receive at least half of their income from Social Security. Let’s take a look at this important program and some of the changes we will see this year. Eligibility. Eligibility for Social Security is based on the number of credits...
One of the first questions many clients ask is whether they need a trust. It’s a great question, but it leads to another: What do you want your plan to accomplish? Let’s begin with a brief discussion of what trusts are and how they work. Then we’ll...
Client Videos Explanation of Power of Attorney Explanation of Personal Care Plan Advanced Health Care Directive Explanation of a Pour Over Will Agreement and Receipt for Deposit of Will Explanation of Revocable Living Trust Explanation of Certificate of Trust...
Are you trying to figure out how to pay for the care of a loved one? Is he or she at home and no longer able to manage on their own, or have a cognitive impairment, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease? Does the illness, impairment, or disability limit their ability to...
Are you going on a bucket list trip? Or just a fishing trip? Has your pain threshold approached the level that the doctor told you, if you get to this point, then we will schedule your surgery? Has a good friend or family member just passed away? Has your teenager...
Client Videos Explanation of Power of Attorney Explanation of Personal Care Plan Advanced Health Care Directive Explanation of a Pour Over Will Agreement and Receipt for Deposit of Will Explanation of Revocable Living Trust Explanation of Certificate of Trust...
Is he or she at home and no longer able to manage on their own, or have a cognitive impairment, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease? Does the illness, impairment, or disability limit their ability to manage on their own? Is your loved one in the hospital and not able to go...
When working with families dealing with probate on a loved one’s estate, Anchorage probate lawyers often find themselves answering a variety of questions about how to avoid probate in the future. There are a whole lot of tools at the disposal of an probate attorney...
Maybe it’s an insurance policy you took out years ago. Or the retirement plan you set up with your employer the day you started working for the company. Or the IRA you have been scrupulously contributing to for two decades. You created them all to protect your...
If you are reading our blog, you probably already decided that you want to create a living trust with an Anchorage will and trust lawyer to avoid probate and put a quick end to the estate administration process. You might also have decided that you want your estate...
Though not as often as movies and soap operas would have us believe, estate planning lawyers do sometimes deal with family members who contest their loved one’s will. The case of a contested will normally involves a person who feels the deceased did not properly...
Raising a child with special needs is challenging. Sadly, the stress of the situation contributes to the high rate of divorce among couples who are raising children with special needs. In fact, it is estimated that the rate of divorce in these households are between...
Serious health diagnoses can impact your life in huge ways and may bring concerns you haven’t thought of up to the forefront. One of those concerns, which is often pushed off when everything is going well, is estate planning and/or elder law planning. Planning can...
Perhaps one of the best reasons to hire an estate planning attorney in Anchorage is because of what they can do to help with retirement planning. Most of us have a kind of fantasy about what our retirement will look like, but a smart Anchorage estate planning lawyer...
While it doesn’t happen in real life as often as it does in the movies and on soap operas, Anchorage wills and trusts lawyers do sometimes have to deal with a contested will. Wills and trusts are created in order to ensure that a deceased’s wishes are followed, as...
The answer to this question and so many other estate planning questions is, “It depends, ….”. It is true that if you own an asset jointly with rights of survivorship in Alaska, the joint tenant will automatically retain ownership of the property when you pass...
A lot of parents come into our Anchorage estate planning law firm with mixed feelings about passing on the balance of their retirement accounts to their children when they die someday. On one hand they are proud of the money they have saved over their lifetime in an...
Legal competency concerns can lead to issues for senior citizens, during both life and death. This is especially true for financial affairs and disputed inheritances. An Anchorage Elder law attorney must be able to determine a senior’s legal competency in both...
What are we thinking about? The holidays?, how cold will it be tonight?, what am I grateful for?, what am I going to plant in the garden next spring? will this cold weather give up for a bit and be warm enough for us all to go skiing?, what a year it has been, seems...
People often struggle with deciding who will serve as guardian for their minor children if they pass away. We’ve walked hundreds of Anchorage families through this process. Sometimes, the family situation requires naming not just one guardian, but two. If you leave...
For many of us, the holidays are a time to reflect upon the changes that have taken place over the course of the year. (There is certainly a lot to reflect upon this year!) As estate planning attorneys, the end of the year is a time to remind our clients about the...
These three legal documents have similar names but they are quite different in terms of the estate planning goals they help you accomplish. A will directs how a person’s estate is to be administered and how his or her assets will be distributed after death. The person...
One of the first questions many clients ask is whether they need a trust. It’s a great question, but it leads to another: What do you want your plan to accomplish? Let’s begin with a brief discussion of what trusts are and how they work. Then we’ll...
It’s almost the end of September. What are you thinking about? I can tell you what I am considering: yard clean up, planting last minute perennials, self care that includes cardio exercise daily and stretching and of course healthy foods and lots of water. I...
If you are reading our blog, you probably already decided that you want to create a living trust with an Anchorage will and trust lawyer to avoid probate and put a quick end to the estate administration process. You might also have decided that you want your estate...
The majority of people we see name their adult children as beneficiaries of their estate plan. In most cases, this works well because children typically outlive their parents. But, what happens when a child dies before the parent? What becomes of the inheritance that...
I don’t know about you, but I like to surround myself with things that motivate, inspire, encourage or comfort me. And apparently a lot of other people like to surround themselves with positive sayings, too. Look at the market for word wall art and refrigerator...
I can’t believe June is here already! With the bloom of Alaska’s beautiful wildflowers, I am reminded that we, too, are rejuvenated with the thought of outside activities. Today, I want to write about one of my favorite wildflowers, Forget-Me-Nots. This humble, but...
April showers bring May flowers. Snow free trails invite biking and hiking. Planning a summer escape to your favorite get away. What are you up to? As I write this, I guess I am looking inside and wondering. When I saw the following “note to self” on the...
What are you thinking about as we head into spring here in Anchorage? What are you hoping to do this spring, this summer, this year, next year? I am really looking forward to everything I want to do and add to my calendar. The dump trucks are driving down my street as...
It’s March, the month we celebrate all things Irish, Girl Scout Cookies, especially Thin Mints, and the American Red Cross. Those three things have absolutely nothing in common, other than they’ve all made an impact on our culture! The calendar tells me that Spring is...
What does the ultimate act of love mean to you? February is here! It’s a month marked with pretty pink and red heart decorations, and flamboyant expressions of love. That’s what I’d like to talk about today – love, and what that looks like in real life, beyond the red...
Happy New Year!! I hope this letter finds you and your family well and enjoying our new year, 2021. It seems like yesterday was the year 2000 and we were worried about all of the computers in the world. This year brings new concerns, but more importantly, it brings...
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