Do I Really Need to Contact an Estate Planning Lawyer?

Do I Really Need to Contact an Estate Planning Lawyer? Many younger people assume they don’t even have an estate worth dividing up and sharing with their loved ones after they’ve passed. Fortunately, they couldn’t be further from the truth.…

What is a Will And Are They Important?

What is a Will? A will is a legal document that designates certain assets to go to certain individuals. This is usually to family members, close family friends, or other loved ones. A will also dictates what will happen with…

How to Choose Your Probate Executor or Trust Trustee

One question estate planning clients often struggle with is who to appoint as a probate executor for a will or a trustee for a trust. Although people often only look at such decisions they make as the “honor” or “privilege,”…

Capital Gains and Home Sales

There’s a good chance that the profit from your home sale will not be taxable. Unmarried individuals can exclude up to $250,000 in profits from capital gains tax when they sell their primary personal residences, thanks to a home sales…

Who Gets Copies of the Will After a Death?

Fans of murder mysteries may assume that distributing a will is simple. There is one copy, which the decedent’s lawyer keeps on file, and after a death all heirs are brought in to hear the lawyer read the will aloud.…

The Child Tax Credit for 2021

The Child Tax Credit is for individuals who claim a child as a dependent if the child meets certain conditions.  The CTC was created in 1997 and has been expanded several times since, most recently in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic…