estate planning

10 Questions To Help You Create Your Will

A Holistic Approach to Your Affairs For many people, especially those approaching middle- or retirement-age, know they should put together a plan for their estate, but feel overwhelmed by the details and options. They continue to put off estate planning for “another day” until, often, it is too late. Younger people also should consider their affairs, because there is no time like the present and because tomorrow is never guaranteed. In fact, putting together a comprehensive

10 Questions To Help You Create Your Will

Creating a will not at the top of your to-do-list? Maybe it should be! Creating an estate plan is one way to ensure your family is taken care of, and your wishes are carried out in the future. Having a will isn’t just for the uber-rich or elderly. In fact, everyone should have a will regardless of your marital status, age, or the size of one’s estate. When writing out your will, many considerations need to

Parents made wills in 1996. Nothing has changed except their age/health. Any concerns over the validity of the wills?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Wills were made and recorded in 1996. They have the same address, they’re still married, all their children and grandchildren are still living, and little, if anything, in their lives has changed. Given the state of their health, should we be concerned with the wills’ validity given the age of their wills? ANSWER BY MARGARET CROSS-BELIVEAU: A validly executed will remains in effect no matter how long ago the wills were executed. I am

Contemplating Your Estate Plan During Covid-19

Get Your Affairs in Order For most of us, coronavirus and the threat it poses has made us contemplate the status of our estate plans. As thousands of people in the Commonwealth have died of COVID-19 and its complications, many thousands more are ill, and many, many thousands more face unemployment and financial hardship. There are also innumerable, lesser losses: newborn grandchildren who have yet to meet their grandparents; weddings canceled and postponed; funerals with only

What should I do about a verbal agreement and one witness?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My mother passed away. Before she passed, she had a talk with my step-dad and her kids separately. She stated to me and my brother that she and my step-dad had talked about what she wanted to do with her money. She was leaving her s.s., pension and 401k to her kids. She also stated that my step-dad agreed to giving us everything and that he stated to her didn’t want any of the

Can a durable poa take a payable on death account that was there for me 6 hours before moms death and against my moms will take that account?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My sister had durable poa 6 hours before my moms death. She went to bank withdrew the pod account that my mom wanted me to have. I have original pod account paperwork that I was sole beneficiary and have in writing that in case she died I could go to bank with death certificate and get that account!!

Does my brother have a right to sell my mother’s house?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My mother is in a nursing home. Before that I was her caregiver. I am still her power of attorney. I still live in my childhood home and have started a family of my own. My brother just got out of prison and wants the house. He only lived in the house for one year and never paid even one bill. I used my retirement from a previous job to pay off the house

Do any of you advise against using online template forms to create your own Will, Power of Attorney and Health Care Directive?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Some of my colleagues have used these forms to create their own Will and Power of Attorney–not sure about Health Care Directive. As long as they are notarized, I assume these documents are considered as legal as those created by an Attorney–or am I mistaken? Are there cautionary tales you wish to share? Is there an online resource for these forms that you recommend? What range of costs should I expect if I complete

Does an executor need to disclose how money is being spent?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My mother had a stroke, but is very cognitive and alert , she is in rehab. My brother has taken over as executor to pay bills. As one of 8 siblings I have asked several times how the bills are being paid. I have asked for detail info since I knew exactly what was in her accounts. I have been told that I do not need to know, or how the money is being

How do I remove my mother’s name from the title to my (our) home?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: My mother is 97 years old with dementia such that she needs 24 hour care. She is destitute and on Medicaid and is represented by an elder law lawyer who is her court appointed guardian. I am considering the possibility of selling our townhouse and moving to be near one of my children. I am not in a good financial place myself, another reason to move to somewhere less expensive with one of my

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10 Questions To Help You Create Your Will

10 Questions To Help You Create Your Will

Parents made wills in 1996. Nothing has changed except their age/health. Any concerns over the validity of the wills?

Contemplating Your Estate Plan During Covid-19

What should I do about a verbal agreement and one witness?

Can a durable poa take a payable on death account that was there for me 6 hours before moms death and against my moms will take that account?

Does my brother have a right to sell my mother’s house?

Do any of you advise against using online template forms to create your own Will, Power of Attorney and Health Care Directive?

Does an executor need to disclose how money is being spent?

How do I remove my mother’s name from the title to my (our) home?

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