Blog Category | Estate planning & wills

When it comes to wills, there are several common misconceptions that people often have. These wrong ideas can lead to confusion and potentially undesirable outcomes for your assets and family members. Debunking some of these myths is one method of crafting an ironclad will that can benefit your loved ones....

About half of Americans do not have a will in place because they think it is too complicated. However, it is a critical part of protecting your loved ones’ interests. Here is everything you must know about drafting this part of your estate plan. Do you need help? The short...

If you want to take extra steps to ensure your family will receive their inheritance, you might consider creating an irrevocable trust. This is a trust that holds money or property for another person. Since the trust owns the assets, it can protect them against lawsuits and creditor claims. The...

Are you getting ready to plan your estate in Virginia? There are a whole host of details that you need to absorb. You want to make sure that you leave a viable estate for your family members to inherit. To do so, you need to know about issues such as...

Estate planning is an important process that everyone in Virginia should go through. It ensures you and your assets are taken care of in the way you want before and after you die. There are several different documents that can be part of an estate plan, but some are more...

Financial planning entails a series of processes to protect your personal and business finances in Virginia. It’s important to make the most of your financial planning by using the resources available to you. Budgeting As the prices of everyday products increase, budgeting is recommended to ensure that you can pay...

A trust is a great instrument to help keep your Virginia estate strong and protected. In a trust, you have a legal agreement that keeps your assets from creditors, the IRS and false heirs. However, giving your possessions to the beneficiaries you choose is more complicated than it might seem....

Planning an estate in Virginia can be a complex and tricky affair depending on the estate involved. This is the kind of task for which a number of industry certifications are helpful. You may want to work with a professional who possesses them so that your plan can be implemented....

Estate planning will give you control over your assets while providing you and your loved ones with security and privacy. No matter your age or level of wealth, a developed plan for how your assets will be handled can give you peace of mind. When your affairs are in order,...

If you live in Virginia and you are preparing a will, you may be concerned about someone contesting it, resulting in your wishes not being carried out. There are a few things you can do to help prevent this. Communication and planning ahead The first step is to be as...

Providing for your family is a priority, even when thinking about what life might look like after you pass. Having a thorough estate plan in place may do more for your family than you realize, though. While a will is an excellent start to planning, it does not accomplish everything...

Estate planning and wills in Virginia give you the means of transferring your estate without conflict. The proper administration of assets is a real challenge that an estate owner is left with after their death. As simple as it might initially seem, your belongings don’t exactly fall to your closest...

After creating your will, you should review it periodically to make sure it still aligns with your wishes. You can update your will as needed to match changing family and personal circumstances. In general, consider reviewing or updating your will after these common life events. Loss of a beneficiary If...

It’s important for Virginia residents to update their estate plans regularly in order to make it as easy as possible for their loved ones and the people handling their estate. Fiduciaries act in the best interest of the beneficiaries in the form of either an executor or trustee. Executors are...

When it comes to planning your estate and writing your will in Virginia, one of the key choices to make is who should be your executor. The executor is in charge of carrying out all of the directions and rules in the will, so it is an important role. What...

Estate planning often requires deliberate and careful thought. Otherwise, the estate planner might miss something and create problems for their heirs. Without the necessary legal documents, representatives may have difficulty dealing with probate or other estate matters. The good news is that putting together a complete estate plan with documents...

Virginia residents who are going through a divorce should not overlook how their property settlements might affect their estate plans. Careful drafting of property settlement agreements involving life insurance is important to avoid potential problems. Life insurance in property settlement agreements Many property settlement agreements in divorce cases include provisions...

There are numerous parts of Virginia estate plans, and one of them is account designations. These exist separately from the will because these accounts do not need to be dealt with in that document. The only way that these are dealt with in the will process is if someone does...

Planning your estate normally focuses on assets like your home, bank accounts, insurance policies and belongings. However, there is another type of property that you need to address when planning your estate: your digital assets. In 2017, Virginia adopted the Uniform Access to Digital Assets Act that allows your executor,...

Many people believe that only wealthy individuals need an estate plan. Others think a simple will template covers all the bases. However, a personalized estate plan is important for most people. These are the three key reasons to engage in the estate planning process even if you do not own...

Many people understand the importance of having a will. However, some of them draw up the original will and then forget about it. As individuals get older, there are life changes, and some of them warrant a review of the original will and possibly require a change. If the writer...

Putting your end-of-life wishes into a document is not enough to make it legally binding. You must make sure that you follow the law to create a legal will. According to the Virginia State Bar, there are multiple requirements to create a will that a court will rule valid. The...