I meet people all the time — single people, married people, with and without children who have none of their estate planning documents in place. There are a number of reasons as to why people don’t get their documents in order — worry about the cost is often a reason given (although it does not...
MegaMillions mania is sweeping the nation. With the grand prize over $500 million, people are dreaming of what they would do with the money, and how they would share it with their families and friends. One one hand, the odds of winning – 1 in 175 million – are infinitesimal. But hey, someone has to win,...
I saw this story this morning that made me shake my head in wonder, and in a little bit of jealousy. Apparently, three money managers from Greenwich, Connecticut won $254 million in the Powerball lottery. If you don’t know, Greenwich is a New York City suburb and one of the richest in the country. Apparently,...
I was talking to someone the other day who wanted to change their Will, which was not originally drafted by me, and asked me if I would do a a codicil for them. I told them no. While I would be happy to draft a new will from scratch, I don’t do codicils to wills...
I have new clients, a same-sex couple. When interviewing them about their assets, they told me that they own their home as joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTROS), and not as tenants-in-common (TIC). In brief, the difference between the two are as follows. If two people own property as JTROS, then upon the death...
In today’s (October 15, 2009) Wall Street Journal, there is an article entitled “Is There a Trap Lurking in the Language of your Will?” written by reporter Laura Sanders. The article correctly points out that many semi-wealthy couples may have a serious problem in their Wills. By “semi-wealthy” I mean estates worth up to $4...
This post concerns what I see are the dangers of people buying fill in the blank Wills in stores, over the internet, or using consumer software. And I am going to admit right up front that I have a personal and financial bias. My job is to provide estate planning services, which may include wills,...
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today in the Estate of Max Feinberg. Even though I’m not an Illinois attorney (which means the case does not directly apply to me), I find it very interesting both as a Trusts and Estates attorney and as a Jew. Fort Lauderdale and Broward County have a large, often elderly...