Dear Raider, I’ve decided to get my estate planning documents in order, but I want to talk to my family first. Estate planning isn’t an easy topic to broach. Do you have any suggestions for how I can bring it up and what we should discuss? Thanks for your help! Khan Versashun — Dear Khan, […]
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 manuscripts, people collect items for a variety of reasons. These often include a passion or expression of their personalities, an expected return […]
Celebrity Estate Planning: Lessons Learned from Lisa Marie Presley and tWitch
Celebrities may be wealthy, but despite their money and popularity, they make mistakes too. One area where we’ve seen lots of costly mistakes is in estate planning, where certain actions (or lack of taking any action at all) can trigger years of court battles or cost their heirs millions of dollars. The mistakes celebrities have […]
Happy Holidays From The Farr Law Firm!
Farr Law Firm Staff Participates in Food for Others Power Pack Program
As the days get colder and the holidays are upon us, we are reminded that many families across the DC Metro area are facing a stark reality. For thousands of families in DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland ― as well as millions across America ― a significant gap exists between how much food they can […]
Special Edition: What an Attitude of Gratitude Does for Your Health and Well-Being
Happy Thanksgiving from the Farr Law Firm! The attorneys, paralegals, and staff at the Farr Law Firm want to wish you a day filled with health, happiness, family, and a plentiful feast. We also want to share some research provided by Harvard University and other notable sources about how being grateful can be good for […]
Our Top 10 Spookiest Articles of 2022
2022 has been a bit of a frightening year, but not nearly as scary as recent years past! Since Halloween is in less than a week, it’s an ideal time to catch up on some of the scariest elder law, estate planning, and special needs planning articles of the year. From loved ones helping their […]
Why Are So Many Young People Having Strokes?
Stroke prevention efforts are most often focused on older adults. That’s because 60% of strokes happen in adults 65 years and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many don’t realize that strokes are becoming much more common at a younger age, as well. Let’s look at rapper Kid Cudi, who entered […]
Naomi Judd Left Daughters Out of Her Will — Validity of Document Is Now Being Questioned
Naomi Judd, who struggled with severe depression for years, died by suicide at age 76 on April 30, 2022. She is survived by her husband of 32 years, musician Larry Strickland, and her two daughters, duo partner/country singer Wynonna Judd, 58, and actress/activist Ashley Judd, 54. Naomi died a day before she and her daughter […]
The Nightmare of Probate: Prince’s Estate Took Six Years to Settle
In 2016, the legendary musician and actor Prince died of a fentanyl overdose. He left behind an incredible legacy, significant assets, many relatives, and, unfortunately, no will and no trust. It took six years and tens of millions of dollars in legal fees, but the heirs and the IRS agreed that his estate was worth […]
Is a Family Caregiver Entitled to Compensation from an Estate for Their Caregiving Services?
Q. I am the trustee of my parents’ trust. They have now both passed away. My brother helped perform minimal long-distance caregiving for them over the last five years, and he spent about a year and a half toward the end as a live-in caregiver in their home in Virginia Beach. I was taken aback […]
Grandparents and Others can Contribute More to 529 Plans without Affecting College Financial Aid
Q. My son, Bryan, is entering middle school. His grandfather (my dad) is coming for a barbecue for Father’s Day this weekend, and we are also celebrating Bryan’s birthday. My dad has been contributing to a 529 plan to help pay for Bryan’s future college education for years but is concerned about continuing to do […]
Problems with Beneficiary Designations Part 2
Q. Last week, you wrote about why inheritance sometimes goes unclaimed, and how it’s a lot less likely when you have a trust in place. I read something about the downsides of beneficiary designations naming individuals and how they do not always solve the problem of probate and can actually cause many more problems than […]
Benefits of Naming a Trust as an IRA Beneficiary
Dear Hayek, I am reconsidering who I should make the beneficiary for my IRA. I heard that there are some advantages to naming a trust instead of an individual. Is this true, and if so, why? Thanks for your help! Benny Fishiary — Dear Benny, This is a very complex area of the law, and […]
Problems with Beneficiary Designations Part 1 – $100 Billion of Unclaimed Property!
Q. I read somewhere that there is over $100 billion of unclaimed property. How is this possible? How is it that so much property goes unclaimed? Is there a way that I can check to see if any of that belongs to me? And how can I ensure of that when I die, my property […]
The Ins and Outs of Reverse Gifting
Q. My daughter started her own business and made some good investments with her money, and became very successful. She recently told me that she wanted to transfer assets to my name to assist me with my living expenses, but she wants to give me a brokerage account with stocks worth much more than I […]
What Your Loved Ones Want and Don’t Want May Surprise You!
Q. I visited my mother the other day, and we sat on the sofa in her living room with my children enjoying each other’s company. We reminisced about memories of me growing up and looked at old photo albums with the kids. In some of the pictures that were taken at my grandparents’ house, I […]
When Your Bank Thinks You Need a Guardian — Former Talk Show Host Wendy Williams v. Wells Fargo
When a loved one has mounting medical, financial, and mental health needs, a family may appoint a guardian or a conservator to assume legal guardianship over an adult. Guardianship cases have become more common in the public eye recently, as we’ve heard about Britney Spears, Amanda Bynes, Nichelle Nichols, and others in the news. Before […]
Divorce Rates for Couples 50 and Older Have Doubled Since 1990 — What This Means for Estate Planning and Medicaid Planning
Years ago, the vast majority of couples who weren’t happy in their relationship chose to remain married out of convenience or routine, a sense of familiarity, or for their children. This has changed in recent years for many Americans ages 50 and over who are deliberately choosing to part ways. In fact, the divorce rate […]
What are the Duties of a Health Care Agent?
Q. My sister, Tracy, told me recently that she is planning to get her incapacity planning documents in order and she asked me to be her health care agent. We aren’t super close but we are both the only family the other one has. Still, before I agree to taking on the role, I want […]
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