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If you look around your home, you can probably find a lot of items that are precious to you that your kids would prefer not to receive as part of their inheritances.

One of the smaller but significant mistakes in estate planning is when parents make assumptions about what items of personal property their children might like to inherit. For example, a parent might have collectible plates that have been purchased through the years, but the children might not have any interest in them.

Why? Perhaps many other people have the same plates, making the plates not worth very much in the present market.

Inheriting such things becomes a burden for...

Actor John Mahoney recently passed away while in hospice care. He left behind an estate that is worth millions, with many possible heirs.

Actor John Mahoney had a long and distinguished career as an actor in a variety of roles. He was best known for his award-winning work on the TV show Frasier, in which he played the main character's elderly father.

He passed away recently at a hospice, while suffering from a variety of illnesses. Friends, former co-workers and fans have shown an immense amount of grief over the loss.

One friend recently petitioned a court to open a probate case to settle Mahoney's estate, as TMZ reported in "'Frasier'...

One of the most important things that you need to know if you have a will, is when to review and make changes.

It is likely that you will experience many changes in your life throughout your adult years. Those changes will not only be personal, such as getting married and having children, but also financial, such as getting a promotion or changing jobs for greater income. The various changes in your life make it likely that you will want to adjust how you distribute your estate.

Your life can look radically different at age 70 compared to when you were age 30. Not every change in your life will necessitate a change to your estate plans....

Estate planning for assets that are unique, such as antiques, artwork or collectibles requires special attention and care.

When planning for your estate it is important to know the value of your assets. That way you can make sure everything is distributed between your family members in the proportions you want.

The value is easy to determine for financial accounts. It is also easy for things that are routinely bought and sold in open markets such as cars. However, there are many other items in your estate that are more difficult to value.

Artwork, for example, normally does not receive a specific value until someone purchases it at an...

Even if the recent tax law changes do not change the impact of the estate tax on your estate, there are other reasons to review your estate plan now.

Much of the estate planning talk about the recent large tax law changes has focused on the implications of the changes to the estate tax and the possibility of their rollback in a few years. Families that might be affected by those changes, are being advised to revisit their estate plans.

Unfortunately, the focus on that single issue might make people not affected by the estate tax think they have no need to review their estate plans. However, as Forbes discusses in "7 Reasons To Review Your...

Despite high volatility and cautions from financial advisors, cryptocurrencies continue to grow in popularity. That can make estate planning difficult.

Most financial advisors surveyed on the subject, say they would advise their clients not to invest in cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The markets for these and other digital currencies are extremely volatile and subject investors to substantial risk.

For many people, the volatility is attractive because there is a chance for a great reward. Therefore, cryptocurrencies are increasingly popular but they are choosing to deal with an issue discussed by the Financial Standard in...

People often think they can wait until they retire to make plans for their estates. However, it is very likely that people will need plans before then.

Americans generally like to drag their feet, when it comes to estate planning. They always think they can wait until they get a little bit older. Many try to put it off, as long as possible.

These Americans do not prepare estate plans, until they are about to retire or even until after they retire. That means they do not have wills. They do not have trusts. They do not have any advanced directives providing what should happen, if they become disabled.

People just assume they will not need...

A new study suggests that retired Americans are not running out of money.

The conventional wisdom is that when people retire, they will slowly spend down the money they saved for retirement. If they live long enough, they will eventually run out of retirement savings. This happens in many cases. However, a new study suggests that the opposite is actually happening.

The study found that two decades after retiring, 80% of retired Americans retained all of their pre-retirement assets and, in some cases, had more assets than when they retired. The Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog discussed this study in "Today's Retirees, The Lucky Few, Are...

It can be very expensive for families to provide the care needed for elderly parents. Sometimes living in the wrong state can make things worse.

In recent years, the costs of providing care for the elderly has skyrocketed. The rising costs have put extreme pressure on the finances of many American families who provide care for their older parents. The elderly parents often discover that they did not save enough for retirement to cover the rising costs for themselves.

However, not all states are equal. Caring for elderly parents is cheaper in some states than others.

Financial Advisor recently reported on a new survey that details the...

Americans are purchasing far fewer life insurance policies than they did a few decades ago. The reasons for the decline are not clear.

Life insurance can be a key tool in estate planning. This is because it provides a way to provide cash to families who might need it, especially while the rest of an estate is settled in probate. Life insurance can also help equalize inheritances between children, when other estate assets are difficult to divide.

Americans are purchasing fewer policies than before. Between 1965 and 2016 the population grew by approximately 50%. However, the total number of life insurance policies purchased by Americans...

Estate litigation occurs for a variety of reasons. However, experts can often predict what types of litigation will become more popular.

At the heart of most estate litigation cases is some sort of family grievance. There are other reasons for litigating over an estate. However, family issues are by far the biggest source of conflicts. That is a timeless principle that has been true since the very beginning of estate law and it is likely to always be true.

However, the contours of how the litigation proceeds changes over time. It is useful to try and anticipate how potential battles will look. Private Wealth recently predicted some...

An internal government audit has found that Social Security is underpaying many widows and widowers, because it is failing to adequately inform them of their options.

One of the most important and difficult decisions people must make when they are considering retirement, is when to start taking Social Security benefits. The longer people delay taking benefits, the more they will receive per month.

To get the maximum amount of lifetime benefits, people need to factor in their life expectancy. This is difficult enough for people who are just having to decide when to take their own benefits. However, it becomes even more difficult for those...

If you want to plan in advance for your own funeral so that your family does not have to make the arrangements, one of the questions to consider is whether or not you should also pay in advance. The answer might depend on your expected Medicaid needs.

In general, it is a good idea to pre-plan your own funeral. This allows you to determine where and how your remains will be handled. It also removes a potential burden for your family, when they will be in mourning over you.

Funeral homes offer many different types of pre-planning packages that include various levels of services. You can often even transfer a plan between funeral homes, if...

Some people think that scientists are not far away from creating the technology that will let human beings live forever. However, do not let that hope delay your estate planning.

Considering how many people delay getting estate plans, it might seem like the consensus is that most of us will live forever. If we never will pass away, then we will not have estates that need to be distributed after we pass away. For now, however, the idea of eternal life remains a matter of science fiction for many.

On the other hand, some people think it might not be fiction for very much longer, though as the Daily Mail reports in "Could you live forever?...

If there are things that you are hoping to do before you pass away, let your doctor know so that the doctor can better develop your treatments.

An unfortunate reality of modern medical care is that doctors do not always have the time or inclination to get to know their elderly patients very well on a personal level. Doctors can read charts and make medical findings, but they do not always know the desires and goals of their patients. When coming up with treatment plans and schedules, doctors do not normally take into account what the patient might want besides medical care.

Most elderly people do want other things.

Almost everyone has a...

Family business owners who would like to leave a charitable legacy behind when they pass away have a unique way that they can do so. They can donate some of their business interests to charity without affecting their own lifestyles very much.

As people get wealthier, their estate planning goals normally begin to get a lot more diverse. People with only a few assets typically have a main goal of making sure those assets go to provide for their families. However, the wealthy have plenty of assets to make sure their family members are taken care of and accomplish other things in their estate plans.

For many another important goal is leaving...

One of the unintended consequences of the new federal tax law, is that it makes enormous tax savings possible for those willing and able to get creative with trust formation.

If you have read anything about the recently passed tax cuts President Trump signed, you have probably read that a few of the changes seem relatively simple. Under the new law, the estate tax exemption limit is doubled to $11 million for an individual and $22 million for a married couple.

The major complication is that the exemption limit is scheduled to return to previous levels in a few years. However, there are more complications to the changes than that, as...

Families that provide care for elderly relatives face large expenses. There are a few tax breaks that can help to defray some of the costs.

When it comes to caring for its elderly population, the U.S. has begun to enter something of a crisis zone. Many people are aware of pending challenges facing government programs, such as Social Security and Medicare. Those programs will either need to soon find more funding or be restructured.

There are other difficulties that tend to be under the radar, when it comes to caring for the elderly.

One example of that is increasing life expectancies for elderly people. Many are living longer than they...

People who suddenly inherit wealth and who do not know how to handle it, can face many difficulties. For lottery winners, sudden wealth can bring even more trouble.

One of the key principles in estate planning is this: it is not a good idea to leave heirs a great amount of wealth outright, especially if they are not already wealthy. People who do inherit wealth like that, tend to fall victim to many different traps.

They often waste the wealth on frivolous items. They gamble. They fall for the schemes of people who seek to manage the wealth for their own benefits. In estate planning, there are ways to avoid these traps, so heirs receive...

One of the reasons that you should not try to create your own trust, is that the specific language in the trust can make a very big difference in how the trust will be enforced.

It is now relatively easy to have a trust drawn up. You can even do it yourself, with the help of downloadable forms that can be purchased online. A cottage industry even exists to encourage people to go this route.

By going to a website, answering a few questions and making a small payment, people can quickly get a revocable living trust that can serve as their estate plan. There are some very good reasons why going that route can be a very bad idea.

One of the...

The man at the center of one of the most famous elder abuse cases in the country, Phillip Marshall, still works to prevent elder abuse.

A few years ago, a major scandal hit New York's high society. Brooke Astor, a wealthy heiress, was in cognitive decline. She had wanted to leave her vast fortune to charitable causes and her son, Anthony Marshall, was charged with scheming to take advantage for his own financial benefit. He might have been successful, if not for the efforts of his own son, Phillip Marshall, who blew the whistle and who was ultimately successful in stopping the abuse.

Financial Advisor has more on this remarkable story in

A recent study found that people who retire earlier than similarly situated people, tend to live longer. However, that result is likely not directly related to the fact of early retirement itself.

One of the many questions people face as they approach their elder years, is deciding when to retire. For some people, the decision is primarily made on the basis of their finances.

Those who have saved more than others can retire earlier. However, for some people the decision also includes lifestyle preferences.

Many would prefer to continue working, even though they can afford to retire. A new study might throw another factor into the...

The founder of Ikea, one of the richest men in the world, passed away recently. His plans for what will happen to his family business are unusual.

Most of the time people who appear on lists of the richest people in the world are happy to be on the lists. They sometimes have been known to argue that their wealth has been underestimated and they should be higher on the list than they are.

However, Ingvar Kamprad was unusual.

He is best known for founding the iconic furniture company Ikea. Many might have a bad memory about his company from frustrating attempts at trying to put the furniture together, but Kamprad's family might have...

The House of Representatives recently passed an important piece of legislation that will help protect the elderly from financial exploitation.

What is one of the many issues hindering the fight against financial abuse of the elderly? The people who are often in the best position to notice it, fear speaking up about it.

People who work at financial institutions and insurance companies often see suspicious transactions. If they report their suspicions to authorities, they open themselves up to potential liability, if it turns out that they were wrong. In fact, they may be in trouble even if they were correct, but the abuse cannot be...

The estate of one of Jackie Kennedy's relatives is suing an art collector over a portrait of the former First Lady that was painted when she was 19. The painting is believed to have been lost or stolen decades ago.

When Jackie Bouvier was 19 years old, she fell off a horse. It was not certain whether she would survive, since she was unconscious for a few days.

Shortly thereafter, her father commissioned an oil painting of her to make sure that a lasting memory of his daughter was preserved. The young woman did survive and went on to became one of the most recognizable and iconic women in the country, when she later became Jackie Kennedy,...