The Importance of a Successor Trustee

An estate plan that includes a revocable living trust is an excellent way to protect yourself and your loved ones upon your passing or in the event you are unable to manage your own affairs. As opposed to other estate planning options, a revocable living trust gives you the ability to keep control of and enjoy your accounts […]

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Who Should Be Your Successor Trustee?

If you have a revocable living trust, you probably named yourself as the initial trustee so you can continue to manage your financial affairs. Eventually someone else will need to step in when you are no longer able to act due to incapacity or after your death, however. Your successor trustee plays an important role in the effective […]

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Five Mistakes Successor Trustees Make

When establishing a trust, you must give serious thought to who you choose as your successor trustee—the person who will manage, invest, and hand out the trust’s accounts and property once you are no longer able to do so. This individual ideally should be someone you trust implicitly; someone who is organized, responsible, transparent, and meticulous; and someone […]

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How to Choose a Trustee

When you establish a trust, you name someone to be the trustee. A trustee does what you do right now with your financial affairs—collect income, pay bills and taxes, save and invest for the future, buy and sell property, provide for your loved ones, keep accurate records, and generally keep things organized and in good order. Key Takeaways […]

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Things You Need to Know as Successor Trustee

Being named as a successor trustee in someone’s revocable living trust document can be considered a great honor. But with that honor comes responsibility. Whether you were appointed to this role due to someone’s death or incapacity, we are here to assist you with understanding your role in the trust administration process and to offer you support each […]

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Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trusts

If you want to provide for a loved one who is disabled or has special needs when you are no longer here, care must be taken to ensure that the inheritance you leave will help rather than harm your loved one. An inheritance received outright could negatively impact your loved one if he or she is currently receiving […]

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Severing Joint Ownership of Property

One of the most common forms of property ownership in the United States is joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTWROS or joint tenancy). But what is joint tenancy? Joint tenancy is a legal right to property that provides the owner an undivided right to the enjoyment of the property. In other words, one joint tenant cannot legally […]

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Handling the Legal Affairs of an Estranged Noncitizen Spouse at Death

As the world becomes more of a global community, it is no longer uncommon for married couples to maintain different citizenships. While a difference in citizenship alone can present complexities from an everyday tax perspective, another set of challenges arises when a noncitizen spouse separates from the US spouse, returns to live in the noncitizen spouse’s home country, […]

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