Football season is underway, and now is a great time to evaluate and update your estate plan. Just as the Bengals or Browns (or substitute your favorite NFL team) go to great lengths each year to assemble a team with members whose diverse skills and talents can win games, so too your estate plan can …
Your Estate Planning Team – Who Is On Your Bench? Read More »
A will is one of the most basic and easily-recognized estate planning documents. Simply put, a will is one person’s (the “testator”) directions to the court and the administrator appointed by the court concerning how the testator would like the testator’s assets distributed and affairs handled following his or her death. When a testator creates …
Understanding the Spouse’s “Elective Share” in Probate Cases Read More »
Typical Costs in an Ohio Probate Case Nothing in life is free – and it appears that things are not free once a person dies, either. This is because administering a person’s estate after he or she dies (whether he or she died with a will or without a will or other estate plan in …
The weeks and months following a loved one’s passing can be a flurry of activity for the surviving family members. Funeral arrangements will need to be made and the process of wrapping up the decedent’s affairs will begin soon after. While the process of administering someone’s estate may take a few months, there are actions …
Preserving Property in Ohio After a Decedent’s Death Read More »
In our modern, highly-mobile society, it is not uncommon for individuals to move frequently for personal or professional reasons. Sometimes these moves are to a different part of the same town or to the other side of the state. However, as often as not, these moves can take individuals to the other side of the …
Estate Planning for People with Property in Multiple States Read More »
The purpose of an estate plan is simple: to provide guidance and directions to a person’s surviving family members as to how the person would like his or her financial and other affairs handled upon the person’s death. A good estate plan will eliminate uncertainty and provide clarity, giving grieving family members one less thing …
The Importance of Succession Planning in Estate Planning in Ohio Read More »
In the years before the Internet, planning someone’s estate could be as simple as walking through the person’s home, taking inventory of the personal possessions he or she had, locating any retirement accounts, bank accounts, or investment accounts the person owned, identifying real property in which the person had an interest, and then drawing up …
Planning for Disposition of Your Digital Assets in Ohio Estate Planning Read More »
Losing a loved one is difficult enough, but not being able to wrap up their affairs because of challenges and obstacles encountered during the probate process can add additional frustration to the grieving process. There is, perhaps, no greater challenge or obstacle to the probate process than not being able to locate your loved one’s …
Help! I Can’t Find My Loved One’s Estate Planning Documents! Read More »
There is nothing quite like a person’s death to reveal the true status of the decedent’s family relationships. A family that appears to be at odds with one another at other times can come together, find that their differences were only skin deep, and become a closer-knit family unit as a result. Conversely, a family …
Is it Legal to Be Disinherited in the State of Ohio? Read More »
One of the chief reasons why people create estate plans and use vehicles such as wills and trusts is to protect and preserve their wealth for the benefit of their children, grandchildren, and other close individuals, entities, and causes. Some may be surprised, though, to find that mom’s or dad’s $1 million estate does not …
