http://www.goinglegal.com en-us editorial@goinglegal.com Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins The problem created by evenly splitting an interest in real property between your heirs. Many parents want to give an equal share of the family home or some other sentimental form of real property (actual land usually) ... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_80586_18.html 13th August 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins It isn't just the US Government waiting out there to grab a chunk of your hard earned estate when you become incapacitated or die. Strangely enough, state coffers are frequently enlarged through the mechanism of Medicaid.... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_80390_18.html 12th August 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins In the not overly distant past, the writings of the testator were the only evidence of his or her intentions and mental capacity. Undue influence was harder to defend against when the only evidence was the testator's writi... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_75148_18.html 24th July 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins There is value in the story of an older client who had seen a very interesting clause employed in a will. There was a great deal of money at stake and the many family members had little reason to love each other, because ... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_73669_18.html 19th July 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Wills and trusts have an interesting history in a culture as heavily influenced by British common law as our own. The bequests of wills have been the pole star around which a great deal of mystery fiction has been written... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_70846_18.html 07th July 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Sometimes family and estate planning begins before the family is complete, particularly in an age where people (generally) are waiting until later to have children. In that case there could be grandchildren named in a will... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_68555_18.html 30th June 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins As the life expectancy of people in the United States increases, the reality of second and third marriages becomes more likely even for those who tend to marry for a long time if not until the death of their first spouse. ... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_66484_18.html 25th June 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins The whole concept of estate planning has a couple of primary aims: 1) making sure that your assets are distributed where and how you want them to be, and 2) ensuring that your loved ones are cared for and able to comfortab... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_65730_79.html 23rd June 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Often during the final years of a dear friend's or relative's life some person or persons will take over the task of caring for their sick and elderly friend or relative to a greater degree than the other people in their l... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_57349_18.html 26th May 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins If you are wisely attempting to put some assets into a trust (inter vivos) in your lifetime, then you have been paying attention to the important differences between wills and trusts. A trust created during your life will... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_56079_18.html 22nd May 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins The life estate is something every first year law student learns about when they study the arcane and often bizarre history of property law that harkens back to the days of English knights, lords and serfs, and the transfe... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_55585_18.html 21st May 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Every state has statutes and mechanisms in place that deal with disposal of tangible assets whether the deceased had a will or not. Families might fight over who gets the house, the cars, the stocks and the cash, but there... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_55004_18.html 20th May 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Not too many years ago life insurance was considered to be the indispensable platform upon which all other estate planning efforts should be based. In fact, for those in the median and lower income ranges, it was often th... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_54388_18.html 20th May 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Having an offshore banking account, corporation or trust are common themes in legal thrillers, spy novels and eastern European politics. There is a reason to be concerned about the legality of such accounts, for although ... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_53930_18.html 17th May 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins The creation of offshore trusts and other financial plans is a way of shielding your assets from the laws of the nation in which you reside. It can sometimes be used to remove one of the two certainties of life; taxes. A... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_53562_18.html 15th May 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Many parents want to give an equal share of the family home or some other sentimental form of real property (actual land usually) to their surviving children in equal shares. As an estate-planning attorney, one often sees... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_53282_18.html 15th May 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins "I am taking you out of the will," or "I am going to disinherit Gregory and leave all my money to Steven," are statements that seem far more like they belong in an Agatha Christie novel than in a serious discussion of esta... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_50100_18.html 03rd May 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins If you have decided to put your affairs in order and finally accept the fact that estate planning is something most of us would be better off having than not, the next thing you might be wondering about is how to choose an... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_46948_18.html 25th April 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins The first question many people have when considering estate planning is how to protect their spouse in the event that they pass away. Although it is common to offer the advice that a will or trust is the best way to prote... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_46095_18.html 21st April 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Many people wonder if they really need a will. They may think that they don't have enough assets to bother with a will. Some people erroneously believe that a will causes your heirs to have to go through probate, leading t... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_45709_18.html 20th April 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins A trust is formed when a person or business (legally referred to as the settlor) puts property into the control of another (person or business), usually called the trustee, for the benefit of a person or group called the b... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_45011_18.html 20th April 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins If a person passes on without estate planning of any kind, whether that planning is some kind of will or trust, they are said to have died intestate. Intestate law is the law that decides how assets are transferred and cr... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_44939_18.html 18th April 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins A living trust has many advantages over a simple will or testamentary trust (trust after death). The first advantage is that it keeps the IRS even further out of the process than does either a will or trust that becomes e... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_44413_18.html 16th April 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins A living will is not about who inherits your stocks and bonds when you die and it doesn't designate who gets the family home or your mother's jewelry. What a living will does is establish your wishes about what happens to... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_43850_18.html 14th April 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Gone are the days of leaving home for the first time. For some it was spreading the wings and taking flight. While with others, it was a matter of being tossed over the edge of the nest. Despite the circumstances, it ... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_42919_18.html 09th April 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins Trust and Estates is a rapidly growing area of practice in the law that includes estate planning, managing your estate during life and disposing of your estate at your death through the use of trusts, wills and other plann... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_37472_18.html 21st March 2006 Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins A living will is a document you draft that stipulates what kind of treatment you want or don't want in the event of an unrecoverable illness or injury that leaves you unable to speak for yourself. It gives you the power to... http://www.goinglegal.com/article_37267_18.html 20th March 2006