November 11, 2008
Most people understand the concept and importance of a Will. A Will is a legal document that transfers assets at death and allows a person to name an executor to transfer those assets. A trust is similar in that a grantor transfers assets to the trust and names a trustee to distribute trust assets. You [...]
November 10, 2008
Health Care Proxies and living wills in Massachusetts both address situations in which medical decisions are made on your behalf when you cannot communicate your wishes for yourself. A Health Care Proxy allows you to designate someone (called your Agent) to make decisions on your behalf should you be unable to do so whereas a [...]
November 9, 2008
Developing an estate plan, while an essential first step in protecting your family and financial future, does not end when you sign and execute your will, durable power of attorney, and other important estate planning documents. Your estate plan should be reviewed periodically to determine if any changes or revisions should be made. Certain changes or events in [...]
November 8, 2008
Most people think that when their kids are out of the house, or the mortgage is paid off, the need for life insurance disappears. Life insurance, however, may be a very powerful tool if structured properly and included in a comprehensive estate plan. Some of the benefits of life insurance include:
Life insurance can provide support when you’re [...]
November 7, 2008
As the turmoil in the financial markets continues to affect many different aspects of our lives, one obvious area has been to our retirement accounts. Depending on what types of investments you currently hold in your portfolio, you have most likely seen a decrease in value. According to this statement of Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget [...]
November 7, 2008
I get this question quite often. Family members and friends falsely assume that estate planning is for the “rich”. They think that they are too young to need a Will or they don’t have enough money to worry about planning. I explain that sometimes the headaches associated with a lack of planning usually have nothing to do with [...]
