Does My Spouse Have a Right to a Share of My Home?

Q1. I am giving serious thought to my estate planning and to who I want to leave most of my assets to when I am no longer around. I am seriously considering leaving the bulk to my two children and not my spouse. I live in … [Read more...]

Three Things Most People Get Wrong About Estate Planning 

Q. I just saw that it’s Estate Planning Awareness Month! We had our estate planning documents done through your firm a couple years ago. I’m trying to convince my sister and parents to do the same, but they have some objections, … [Read more...]

Will My Estate Plan Be Followed as Intended?  

Q. I’m working on my estate planning documents and am putting lots of thought into them, especially what I want done with my ancestral home and my ancestral art collection. I have some very old and rare original artwork passed … [Read more...]

Why Are People So Afraid of Estate Planning?

Q. I read your recent article on Aretha Franklin’s multiple handwritten wills and the family strife that ensued for five years after she died. The situation provided a great example for why all of us should have properly written … [Read more...]

Aretha Franklin’s Sons Clash in Court Over Handwritten Wills

Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul,” died five years ago, in 2018, at age 76 from pancreatic cancer. Through her six-decade career in the music business, she left behind a legacy that included over 75 million record sales, 17 Top … [Read more...]

How Does Estate Planning Work for Multigenerational Living Arrangements?

Q. To save money, my parents, my husband and I, and our daughter and her family all live under one roof in a much bigger home than any of us could afford alone in Northern Virginia. With this living arrangement, I can care for my … [Read more...]

Procrastination and Estate Planning: How to Avoid These Disaster Scenarios

Q. My husband keeps procrastinating when it comes to wanting to do our estate planning. I brought up some things that could happen when someone dies without proper planning in place, but it hasn’t been enough to convince him. Can … [Read more...]

Are Large Inheritances Damaging to the Next Generation? Some Celebrities Think So  

Some high net worth individuals, including some celebrities, are increasingly worried about how much of their fortunes, if any, to give to their kids.  A couple years ago, CNN host Anderson Cooper announced that his son, Wyatt, … [Read more...]

My Mom Had a Will, But It Was Useless

Q. I always had a good relationship with my mother. We would have lots of open conversations and talk about almost everything! If she ever got sick or traveled overseas, she would remind me that she had a will, and I of course … [Read more...]

Estate Planning for Your Valuable Collections

Collections of memorabilia, no matter what they are, are often important to their owners and sometimes very valuable. Whether it is paintings, classic cars, antiques, coins, stamps, sports memorabilia, rugs, books, or rare … [Read more...]

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