Posts by Paul Wamser

You may think that if you die while you are married, everything you own will automatically go to your spouse and children. But you are actually thinking of state rules that apply if someone dies without leaving a will. In legal jargon, this is referred to as dying intestate. In that case,…

People often set up bank accounts or real estate so that they own them jointly with a spouse or other family member. The appeal of joint ownership, specifically with survivorship rights, is that when one owner dies, the other owner(s) will automatically inherit the property without it having to go through probate.…

You have meticulously created your estate plan to ensure that it includes and addresses all of your most important assets (accounts and property). You have reviewed your asset list repeatedly, and everything seems to be accounted for. But what if you have forgotten something? Americans own a lot of stuff. Taking stock…

The relationship between spouses is special in all contexts, not the least of which is the estate planning context. In many instances, you can exclude people from your estate plan, including your parents, siblings, and adult children. But there are special protections built into the law that may help protect a spouse…

    Thinking about the world and how our loved ones will fare after we pass away can be very difficult. Although we all know that we will pass away at some point, this is not something most people like to dwell on. However, by proactively planning and prioritizing your goals, you…

Under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which took effect January 1, 2024, many business entities including small limited liability companies (LLCs) and partnerships are required to file reports with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN). In these filings, applicable businesses must disclose important information about their entity. However, recent developments…

When most people think about creating an estate plan, they usually focus on what will happen when they die. They typically do not consider what their wishes would be if they were alive but unable to manage their own affairs (in other words, if they are alive but incapacitated). In many cases,…

Wills and living trusts are two of the most fundamental estate planning documents. While both accomplish the same primary objective in an estate plan of directing the distributions of your money and property to your desired beneficiaries after you pass away, a revocable living trust, often referred to simply as a living…

The Internal Revenue Code assesses a tax (gift or estate) on the transfer of money or property from one person to another during life or at death, with some exceptions. If you own accounts or property that are worth a lot of money and you expect them to continue to increase in…

Family members with special needs may require assistance throughout their lives. If you want to ensure that a loved one with a disability is taken care of after you are gone, you can help manage resources for them by using a third-party special needs trust (SNT). Also known as a supplemental needs…