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My blog can be a helpful resource as you plan your estate.
Information is powerful when putting together your estate plan. At Vail Gardner Law, I update my blog regularly with helpful estate planning information, as well as updates about my upcoming estate planning workshops and other news about my law firm in Durham, North Carolina.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. It should not be taken as legal advice for any situation. By viewing this website, no attorney-client relationship is established.
Can a Trustee Remove a Beneficiary from a Trust?
When you make a revocable trust (a living trust), you can change terms whenever you like. However, an irrevocable trust does not change without decanting. Let’s look at whether and when a trustee may remove a beneficiary from a trust.
What is the Difference Between a Trustor vs a Trustee?
Trusts are the perfect vehicle for creating a legacy for your family’s future. A properly drawn-up trust can help you avoid taxes, pay less for long-term care, avoid Medicaid recovery, skip probate and administrative court costs, and control inheritance distribution. Trusts are a proven asset strategy, but a trust’s terms can seem complex. Let’s look at the roles of Trustor vs Trustee in a legacy planning trust.
Who is the Settlor of a Trust?
Terms related to drawing up a trust fund may seem confusing, especially when many terms mean the same thing. You may wonder, “Who is the settlor of a trust?” If you’re the one who funds the trust, then the settlor is you.
Social Security Estate Planning: Advanced Designations and More
Social security is our Federal government system that pays you a percentage of your pre-retirement income every month after a certain age. This amount is based on your lifetime earnings and varies depending on when you choose to start receiving benefits. There are other ways to receive benefits also. Let’s look at the types of Social Security benefits that you can use during retirement and also what happens to your benefits when you die.
Does Your Estate Plan Include Digital Assets?
In today’s world, our assets are increasingly digital or bound up in the digital universe by passwords and encoding. Think pictures saved in the cloud over the years or letters you may have lovingly composed. Think bank accounts or blogs, websites and online stores, gift cards, balances kept on Amazon or an online wallet. What about your social media, investment accounts, insurance policies online, or email accounts? Learn how to plan for the future of your digital assets.
Contesting a Will
When a loved one passes away and the will is read but doesn’t include you, it can feel like a gut punch. At this point, you can choose to engage in a legal battle to determine the validity of a will. Contesting a will is a way to dispute what the will says.