How Not To Get Legal Advice
Becky Cholewka: I wanted to do a quick video on how not to get legal advice because, unfortunately, this is one of the biggest areas that I see a lot of people trip up on. A lot of people are getting legal advice from their tax person, their financial planner, their brother who lives in […]
The difference between simple and typical documents
Becky Cholewka: One of the things I hear all the time, probably about 3-4 times a week in my office is “Becky, you know what, I’m simple. I just need simple documents.” What I really think people are trying to tell me is that they are “typical”. Maybe they have a checking account, and a […]
A Few Words On Choosing a Successor Trustee
Becky Cholewka: If you choose to have a trust, one of the most important decisions that you are going to make is who is going to act for you as your successor trustee. They are the ones that are not only going to be able to manage and control and invest the monies that you […]
Attorneys Get Paid per Word! And Other Untruths…
Why is my trust so long? As an estate planning attorney who provides comprehensive, solution-oriented planning documents to clients, I get this question almost every week. I have to chuckle, knowing that in the olden days attorneys did get paid per word of each document they created. But not anymore. Most estate planning attorneys work […]
Is your Estate Plan a Trojan Horse?
On January 31st of 2014, the Chinese celebrated the Year of the Horse. Which got me thinking about famous horses: Black Beauty, Secretariat, Trigger, Sea Biscuit, Silver, the Budweiser Clydesdales, Man O’ War, Pokey, and even the Trojan Horse. That famous tale, expertly depicted in the Brad Pitt film Troy, recounts how the Greeks hid […]
Naming A Trustee The Key To Starting A Trust
If you are considering leaving property or other assets to heirs by means of a trust, one of the most important decisions to be made is who will run the trust once you are gone. That person — your fiduciary — will be responsible for managing the assets in the trust and making distributions […]
Do You Need a Trust?
Trusts are an important estate planning tool for many individuals but may not be right for every estate plan. Trusts are complex legal documents and should only be prepared by a lawyer who practices in this specific area of law. There are many different kinds of trusts and they are established for a variety […]
Three Reasons You Need An Estate Plan
Sometimes when people think about an estate plan, they think of only a last will and testament, but an estate plan is much more than a will. Especially since all of an individual’s assets can sometimes be distributed without a will. More important are the other documents that comprise an estate plan such as a […]
Prevention is the Best Medicine & Why You Should Consider a Corporate Trustee
Revocable living trusts are a powerful and commonly used estate planning tool. Whenever a trust is created, there is also an accompanying position created called the trustee. The trustee is a person or entity appointed within the trust document that is responsible for the administration and management of the trust. The trustmaker usually […]