If you’re like 70% of people in the US who have a retirement plan, you still haven’t worked with a professional such as an elder law attorney in Northwest Iowa in order to determine how much money you really need to save. A recent study found that only about 30% of this group has actually sat down with a professional to come up with a realistic number. [Read More]
FAQ: How do I Choose a Guardian for My Child?
One of the most important jobs of an estate planning attorney is to help parents choose the right guardian for their children. This is the person (or people) designated by you to care for your minor children if you should die before they become adults. Working with an estate attorney to choose a guardian gives you a say in the … Read More
I Digress: What is a “Money Story”?
I attended a conference in July of this year where I had the chance to listen to an unscripted conversation between a counselor and a married couple. Their conversation was focused around what the counselor called the couple’s “money story.” But what is a money story? [Read More]
101 Death Hacks: A Cheat Sheet for Arranging Your Affairs Before You Die [Part Five]
Keeping it Current Update your fiduciaries’ contact information (see number 78) every time their information changes Your family and your estate planner (see #20) will need to find your executor and/or successor trustee, so make it easy by keeping your list of contact info current. Review your life insurance beneficiary designations every year Plans change. Family members change. Your life … Read More
101 Death Hacks: A Cheat Sheet for Arranging Your Affairs Before You Die [Part Four]
When you build a house, you want to do so efficiently. Pine 2x4s are cheaper than 1½” oak floor boards, so that’s what you use to frame the house. When you’re making your estate plan, you don’t want the family farm to wind up being sold to pay a tax bill, the costs of probate, or the medical expenses of your beneficiaries. Fortunately, with a little forethought and some organization, you can avoid those kinds of problems and make a plan to pay or even avoid those costs without jeopardizing your wishes. [Read More]
101 Death Hacks: A Cheat Sheet for Arranging Your Affairs Before You Die [Part Three]
Up to this point in the 101 Death Hacks series, we’ve mainly focused on the philosophy behind your estate plan. Starting today, we’re going to get much more practical about making an estate plan by focusing on ways to communicate your wishes and how to do that efficiently and effectively. Read on to learn about what to write down in your will and trust to make them more effective and how your estate planning can help manage the emotional transition caused by your death. [Read More]
101 Death Hacks: A Cheat Sheet for Arranging Your Affairs Before You Die – 21-40 [Part Two]
Thinking about your ultimate demise is probably on the bottom of your list of things you want to spend time on. Our death hacks today focus on how to make estate planning an enjoyable process, putting the right people in charge of your plan after you’re gone, and leaving the message you want to leave through well-thought out memorial planning. [Read More]
101 Death Hacks: A Cheat Sheet for Arranging Your Affairs Before You Die – 1-20 [Part One]
Everyone loves ‘hacks’. From party hacks to Halloween costume hacks to garage organization hacks, if you want to simplify a project or task you can do a quick Google search or pay a visit to the Lifehacker website to find ways to effectively shortcut a complicated job. Why should that be any different for estate planning? Well, a DIY will is probably going to create more problems than it solves, but you can still simplify the estate planning process. Check out this first post in our five-part series to learn how. [Read More]
FAQ: How Good is My Living Will?
One of the many documents an elder law and long-term care planning attorney in the Northwest Iowa area will encourage clients to put together is a living will. These documents have been considered incredibly important in both the legal and medical fields for 40+ years. A living will provides you with the opportunity to make your medical wishes known should you become incapacitated and unable to make decisions at the time. [Read More]
