Estate Planning Awareness Week: The Importance to You and Your Loved Ones of Having an Estate Plan

In 2008, Congress recognized the need for the public to understand the importance and benefits of estate planning by passing House Resolution 1499, which designated the third week of October as National Estate Planning Awareness Week. Nevertheless, according to a 2021 survey conducted by Caring.com, only 33 percent of adults in the United States have any estate planning […]

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Why You Might Want to Go through Probate

Avoiding probate is a common goal for individuals deciding how they want their money and property to be handled when they pass. It is a worthy one and is regularly promoted by estate planning attorneys across the nation. However, probate is not an inherently bad process and does not always need to be avoided. Probate can be simply […]

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Why Is Joseph P. Kennedy Named in My Trust?

Occasionally, a person who has completed an estate plan with their lawyer may be surprised to discover a reference to Joseph P. Kennedy and his descendants buried deep within their trust document. Discovering in your very personal estate planning documents the name of someone with whom your family has absolutely no connection can be particularly puzzling, and even […]

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Is Our Home Community Property or Separate Property, and Why Does It Matter?

When two people get married, the property they obtain during their marriage is called marital property. This includes anything from real property like homes and rental properties, to stock options, investment accounts, heirlooms, and employment income. A common assumption is that spouses want to share their property with each other. This assumption is not always true, however. There […]

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